Washington Spirit Twitter account briefly sends out, deletes tweet protesting team's anthem decision

BOYDS, Md. -- Shortly after the Washington Spirit played the national anthem while the players were in the locker room, the team's official Twitter account briefly tweeted out this:

It was quickly deleted, but the tweet seemed to be highlighting the use of the word "hijacking" in the team's lengthy statement about its decision to play the anthem without the players on the field.

Across Twitter, sportswriters and fans slammed the team's decision.

https://twitter.com/GrantWahl/status/773674247495573504

https://twitter.com/GrantWahl/status/773676344647487488

https://twitter.com/jemelehill/status/773683007442022400

This is what the field looked like without players during the anthem:

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