Megan Rapinoe is the next Colin Kaepernick. Get used to it.
The 33-year-old star of the U.S. Women’s World Cup team draws enough attention with her funky hair color and play on the pitch. But she got even more pub this week when the Yanks drubbed Thailand and Rapinoe was asked a million questions.
Did your team celebrate too much after the 13-0 “women against girls” win the World Cup opener? Critics lambasted the Americans, who replied they were just excited to play again since the last World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Rapinoe said that if FIFA, known for widespread corruption on the international sports scene, put less money into its pocket than the game worldwide, more teams would have a true chance to win.
Why haven’t you sung your country’s National Anthem since 2016? Rapinoe was inspired by the protest of Kaepernick, who lost his career as a pro quarterback but gained national recognition for his famous kneel down during the Star Spangle Banner in his last full season in the NFL, from where he has been blackballed, supported only by Nike.
Rapinoe said her protest is for all the reasons Kaepernick did not stand, salute or sing – the social injustice that plagues this country and others – and added that LBGTQ rights are again in the cross hairs of a nation torn by growing prejudice. She is the latest face behind women’s soccer and she is going to play and say what she wants, critics be damned.
Years ago, fewer would have noticed and less would have cared. But the sport that was built by coaches like Anson Dorrance and players like Mia Hamm, who earned super star status from young girls everywhere, is now in a far brighter spotlight. And since the women are having more success than the U.S. men in recent World Cups, Rapinoe thinks they should not be paid one cent less to play the game for their country. Is it a distraction or side show?
Well, first, you have to love soccer, and after decades of failure to catch on in the U.S. the game is clearly here to stay. Major League Soccer has exploded with franchises in the right cities, and while attendance still lags on lower professional levels, teams like the local Carolina Courage are building a fan base and a never-ending pipeline of stars like Rapinoe on a stage finally big enough to matter.
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