Megan Rapinoe was at the center of the storm surrounding the USWNT World Championship elimination after she was slammed for laughing at her own missed penalty.
The blue-haired Liberal veteran, 38, missed a crucial penalty in the shoot-out against Sweden, which the USWNT eventually lost and eliminated, ending her last World Cup game with the Stars and Stripes.
Rapinoe caused quite a stir by appearing to be laughing and grinning as she jogged back to the halfway line after putting the ball over the bar – her last post in the Stars and Stripes jersey as she retires.
It’s a far cry from the Rapinoe and USWNT headlines of the last edition of the tournament.
She was the co-captain of the USWNT, which had just won her second straight World Championship. She also left France as the tournament’s top scorer with six goals.
Megan Rapinoe was at the center of the storm surrounding USWNT’s exit from the World Championship
She has graced the covers of magazines, starred in advertising campaigns, and was even named Sports Illustrated’s 2019 Female Athlete.
But even then, Rapinoe was a polarizing figure.
Rapinoe sustained his knee during the national anthem in 2016, becoming one of the first white athletes to do so.
She first did so in September 2016, during an NWSL game between Chicago and Seattle in support of Colin Kaepernick.
Later that month, she continued her protest before a US-Thailand friendly in Columbus, Ohio.
Her actions prompted US Soccer to issue a statement expressing its disapproval without naming her directly.
“We expect our players and coaches to honor our flag while the national anthem is being played,” it said.
In the following game, she was booed by the Atlanta crowd when she came on as a second-half substitute and was ordered not to dress for the following two games.
The football veteran suffered his first knee during the national anthem in September 2016
She was one of the first white athletes to take a knee in support of Colin Kaepernick
The next year she was seemingly thrown into national team exile as she was dropped from the roster for the annual SheBelives Cup in the United States.
Rapinoe told Time that she felt the team “was happy to just let me go out to pasture.”
Former teammate Hope Solo has since accused Rapinoe of urging other members of the US team to take a knee.
“I’ve seen Megan Rapinoe almost urging players to kneel down because she really wants to contribute in her own special way,” Solo told Goal.com in 2021.
The controversy continued at the following World Cup in 2019. While Rapinoe didn’t take a knee throughout the tournament, she refused to sing the national anthem with her arms down instead of in front of her heart.
The backlash directed against Rapinoe was amplified, however, when a six-month-old clip showed Rapinoe telling obscure broadcaster Eight by Eight; “I’m not going there [expletive] White House’.
Victorious American sports teams are often invited to the White House to honor and recognize their victory.
Rapinoe accepted the invitation following the USWNT’s 2015 triumph during the Obama administration.
Rapinoe sparked a feud with Donald Trump when she said she wouldn’t go to the White House
The then-president took to Twitter to criticize Rapinoe during the 2019 World Cup
But her rejection of a possible offer from Obama’s predecessor sparked criticism – especially from then-President Donald Trump himself.
Trump tweeted that Rapinoe “should never disrespect our country, the White House or our flag, especially since so much has been done for her and the team.”
Rapinoe, who spoke out in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics, is also an outspoken advocate of LBGTQ+, which has helped US players secure a new employment contract with the USSF that pays female athletes virtually the same salary as theirs male colleague pays.
Victoria’s Secret even announced Rapinoe as part of its effort to revitalize its image in the face of criticism of its angels and models.
“We are proud to bring together an unprecedented group of game-changing partners who share a common goal of driving positive change,” the company said in a statement.
“These extraordinary partners, with their unique backgrounds, interests and passions, will work with us to create revolutionary product collections, compelling and inspirational content, new internal partner programs and support for causes that matter to women.”
After being unveiled as the lingerie brand’s new face, Rapinoe told the New York Times that the old Victoria’s Secret was “patriarchal and sexist,” looking not just at what it meant to be sexy but also at what the clothes were wanted to achieve through a male lens and through what people desired.
Rapinoe was the face of Victoria’s Secret’s rebranding after the company faced criticism
“And it was marketed primarily to younger women,” conveying a “really harmful” message.
But Rapinoe got into trouble when an old tweet of hers resurfaced.
She came under fire when a tweet was unveiled in 2011 in which she mocked someone for looking “Asian” because of their eyes.
Rapinoe reportedly directed the tweet to former professional soccer player and Olympic gold medalist Natasha Kai, who is of Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino and Caucasian descent, according to Sports Room.
“You look Asian with those closed eyes!” Rapinoe wrote in the May 19, 2011 tweet.
The account believed to belong to Kai no longer existed and it was unclear what the tweet to which Rapinoe was replying contained. Kai has another Twitter account, which she started in 2016 and hasn’t posted since 2018.
With equal pay for the USWNT, Rapinoe has recently turned her attention to the struggle of transgender athletes.
She has started fighting to protect the rights of transgender athletes, whom she said would welcome them to the national team.
“Absolutely,” she told Time. “You’re taking the place of a ‘real’ woman,” that’s the part of the argument that’s still extremely transphobic. I see trans women as real women. What you’re automatically saying with the reasoning—you’re already saying it to yourself—is that you don’t believe these people are women. So they take the other place. I don’t feel like that.’
In the tweet, Rapinoe made fun of someone for looking “Asian” based on their eyes
Rapinoe is believed to have directed the tweet to former professional soccer player and Olympic gold medalist Natasha Kai – who is of Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino and Caucasian descent
Since her rise to fame, Rapinoe has used the platform afforded her through her on-pitch endeavors to address off-pitch issues.
But the stronger her voice grew and the more her concerns diverged from the opinion of the majority of Americans, the bigger the target on her back grew.
And with USA’s shocking early exit, which saw Rapinoe miss a penalty and then grin, came the fans’ frustration, who were only happy to take it out on the character they hate so much.
The noise she makes off the field actually interferes with her on-field efforts.
People who disagree with their crusades away from the beautiful game have trouble seeing beyond their differences and recognizing their talent.
Additionally, it has apparently spread to the team as Rapinoe is accused by Megyn Kelly of “poisoning” her teammates.
It seems the louder and more arrogant Rapinoe’s screams get off the field, the more they drown out the good she’s done for the sport.
And after four years, America seems tired of turning victory into sacrifice.