Retired athlete and activist Megan Rapinoe stated Tuesday that there is “a huge backlash” against women happening to women in the United States, citing the criticism she and her former teammates have experienced in the past.
The U.S. women’s soccer team, which Rapinoe played for, was eliminated from the FIFA World Cup earlier this year after Rapinoe missed a penalty kick in the team’s game against Sweden. The retired player, a common subject of criticism among conservatives, claimed it felt that “everybody on the right” had been waiting for her team to “stumble” for several years now, during an interview with The Atlantic.
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“One thing that America does really well is backlash,” Rapinoe said. “I think there’s a huge backlash against women happening right now. I think we see that with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. We’re seeing that with the trans argument in sports.”
Rapinoe also responded to criticism she and her team received from former President Donald Trump, who claimed the team’s loss was “fully emblematic” of the current state of the U.S. and that many team players were “openly hostile to America.” Rapinoe stated that Trump’s statements were a “compilation of hit words and hot-button words” that did not make sense.
“I think, just in general, the way that our team was spoken about over the course of the tournament, it was fake,” said Rapinoe.
In July, the U.S. women’s soccer team was criticized for their performance during the national anthem ahead of the World Cup’s first game, with several team players standing stone-faced without placing their hands over their hearts. Rapinoe also stated last month that she would “absolutely” support and welcome transgender athletes onto the U.S. women’s national team, even if a transgender athlete replaced a biological woman.
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In the wake of her team losing the World Cup, Rapinoe issued a statement that it had been “my honor” to play for the U.S. Last month, Rapinoe announced that she would retire from soccer, with the most recent World Cup being her fourth one.
Rapinoe stated in her statement that she was proud of every member of her team, describing it as “so very special.” In retiring from sports, Rapinoe stated the team would be in special hands, “just like it always was, and always will be.”
