Wonder Women: USWNT Star Megan Rapinoe Is Much More Than Just A Soccer Player
WOMEN'S
Jenny Hojnacki
3 Yrs Ago
Megan Rapinoe is more than just a soccer player and more than just one of the most recognizable faces on the U.S. Women’s National Team. 
Soccer propelled her to stardom over three World Cups and an 11-year professional career, but she has since become more than just another professional athlete and is also a visible pop culture figure and voice for marginalized groups throughout the United States.
Rapinoe’s talent on the pitch is undeniable. She’s excellent on the ball in both a passing and goal scoring capacity. She has 52 international goals and has a keen eye to pick out dangerous passes, including perhaps the most famous cross in American soccer history.
That first crowning moment came in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Women’s World Cup against Brazil. The USWNT trailed Brazil 2-1 in the 122nd minute of the match when was given space along the left touchline to play a long distance cross to Abby Wambach, who headed home the tying goal. The U.S. went on to win that game in penalties, with Rapinoe scoring one of them, but they fell to Japan a week later in the Final.
“I just took a touch and friggin’ smacked it with my left foot,” Rapinoe said after that game about her cross. “I don’t think I’ve ever hit a ball like that with my left foot. I got it to the back post and that beast in the air just got a hold of it.”
Over the course of the next eight years, Rapinoe slowly built herself into a women’s soccer icon, culminating in her performance during the 2019 World Cup. She scored a tournament leading six goals, besting Alex Morgan and Ellen White for the Golden Boot thanks to fewer minutes played. She also won the Golden Ball as the World Cup’s best player. She had both goals in a 2-0 win against France and became the oldest woman to score in the World Cup Final when she opened the scoring from the penalty spot against the Netherlands.
The 2019 season was capped off by winning The Best FIFA Women’s Player award and the Women’s Ballon d’Or.
Rapinoe has always been a fixture at the club level in the United States and abroad. She was on the Chicago Red Stars for the first season of the now defunct Women’s Professional Soccer. After the league folded, she had a brief stop in Australia, where she played two games for Sydney FC before joining a few USWNT teammates with the Seattle Sounders Women in the WPSL as they prepared for the 2012 Olympics.
Olympique Lyonnais, one of the top women’s soccer clubs in the World, brought her in next for two seasons. She scored twice in 2012-13 UEFA Women’s Champions League and became the fifth American woman to play in the Final, which they lost 1-0 to Wolfsburg.
Rapinoe has played for the Seattle Reign, now OL Reign, since coming back to play in the NWSL in 2013. She split time between the Region and Lyon at first, but committed full time to the league in 2014. She has 34 goals in 75 matches played.
As much talent as she has, it’s impossible to talk about Megan Rapinoe without mentioning her campaigns for social justice and the controversy surrounding it. She made national headlines before a 2016 Reign FC match against the Chicago Red Stars by kneeling during the national anthem before the game, echoing San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who knelt to call attention to injustices faced by the African American community. Rapinoe was kneeling to show that the LQBTQ+ community faces many similar challenges and that their liberties are not always protected in the country she loves.
“It was a little nod to Kaepernick and everything that he’s standing for right now,” Rapinoe said after that match. “I think it's actually pretty disgusting the way he was treated and the way that a lot of the media has covered it and made it about something that it absolutely isn't.
“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. “It was something small that I could do and something that I plan to keep doing in the future and hopefully spark some meaningful conversation around it.”
The move drew heavy criticism, but Rapinoe didn’t stop her protest. Shortly after kneeling before the Red Stars match, the Washington Spirit made headlines by playing the anthem before any players came onto the pitch when they took on the Reign, citing Rapinoe’s protest as the reason why. She also protested before a USWNT game against Thailand in 2016, drawing the U.S. Soccer’s ire. She called the federation’s response “cowardly” and vowed to never sing the National Anthem again.
Rapinoe’s activism goes beyond simply protesting by kneeling during the anthem. She reaches out to the community through philanthropic work for a number of LGBTQ+ charities throughout the country and actively fights against homophobia and transphobia in sports. She is also a member of Common Goal, a fund started by Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata. Members donate portions of their paychecks to help various soccer-related charities.
Rapinoe is certainly a talented soccer player. She is a goal scorer, fantastic passer, and leader in the USWNT locker room. She is also not afraid to use her platform to speak her mind and do her best to affect change, regardless of how her critics react, giving her a voice far beyond the confines of a soccer field. 
Presenting Sponsor
Official Sponsors
International
Champions Cup