Rising to the challenge
Megan Rapinoe in middle of fight against soccer foes, Trump
It was only a matter of time.
As the United States women’s team has advanced through the World Cup, it has been on a collision course with potential political backlash.
Of course it has been, especially in this political climate.
This is a team that, historically, has stood up for its beliefs. That has, historically, never backed down from a fight. That, historically, represents strong, independent women everywhere.
This is a team that has always been about more than soccer. Sports infuses the players’ sensibility. Their sensibility is enhanced by sports.
So, it is with zero surprise that we watched the storm unfold around the team this week. In this era, this seminal team was going to find the intersection between sports and society’s bigger issues.
And, of course, captain Megan Rapinoe — feisty, outspoken, fearless — was likely to be right in the middle of it.
The hype for the most anticipated game of the tournament rocketed to a new level midweek. France vs. the United States on Friday in Paris already feels more like a final than a quarterfinal match. It is a sellout, setting ticketprice records for resales, and it is expected to set television viewership records.
Add into all of that a Twitter attack on Rapinoe from the president of the United States, and, well, women’s team sports may have never
seen anything quite like this.
President Trump went on a digital screed Wednesday against Rapinoe because she has said she wouldn’t go to the White House, adding in a juicy expletive for emphasis.
In a series of tweets that also mentioned the NBA and the poverty index, Trump said he would invite the women’s team win or lose “but Megan should WIN first before she TALKS! Finish the job! ... Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag.”
Never mind that Rapinoe, 33, made the statement months ago, and the quote was published in the soccer magazine 8x8 in May. Or that she was the first highprofile female and white athlete to kneel during “The StarSpangled Banner” in solidarity with former 49er Colin Kaepernick, doing so as far back as 2016.
Yet it came to a head this week. After Trump in an interview criticized her practice of not singing the national anthem, the 8x8 video was released and went viral. Then came the predictable social media blasts from the president, fueling more backlash.
Trump and his acolytes are attacking a player who has worked her butt off representing the United States for a decade, winning a world championship and a gold medal along the way. Meanwhile, the French, no fans of Trump, find themselves rooting for the opposition’s captain, as one French reporter told Rapinoe.
Oh, and this is all happening during Pride Month. Rapinoe, who grew up in Redding, has been out since 2012, was the first team player to be out while playing, and is a passionate spokesperson for LGBTQ rights.
“Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties,” Rapinoe said in 2016, after her protest during the anthem.
So, add Rapinoe to a list that includes Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kaepernick and other athletes who Trump has attacked. That’s pretty heady company.
On Thursday, Rapinoe didn’t back down, except for the use of profanity.
“I stand by the comments I made about not wanting to go to the White House, with the exception of the expletive,” Rapinoe said in a news conference. “My mom will be very upset about that.
“But I think obviously (I was) answering with a lot of passion, considering how much time and effort and pride we take in the platform that we have and using it for good, and for leaving the game in a better place and hopefully the world in a better place. I don’t think that I would want to go, and I would encourage my teammates to think hard about lending that platform or having that coopted by an administration that doesn’t feel the same way and doesn’t fight for the same things that we fight for.”
Coach Jill Ellis and several of Rapinoe’s teammates voiced their support for her. Alex Morgan has already said she has no interest in visiting the White House because of current policies.
If anyone thought this team was going to back down, they haven’t been paying attention for the past 20 years. The entire team sued their boss, U.S. Soccer, in a genderdiscrimination lawsuit filed just a few weeks before this World Cup began. Passed down from one generation of players to the next is the belief that, with their platform and record of success, comes a responsibility to be honest and strong and to fight for women’s issues.
Earlier in the week, when asked about the anticipation for the big quarterfinal game, Rapinoe said she hoped it would be the kind of thing little kids dream about, “a complete spectacle, just an absolute media circus. I hope it’s huge and crazy, that’s what it should be. So I hope it’s just a total s—show circus.”
It might not be exactly what she dreamed about as child but it has, indeed, become a circus, complete with antagonism both on the field and back at home.