Megan Rapinoe ‘Proud’ Of Her Fight For Racial Justice & Equal Pay as She Reflects on Her Olympics Journey

Megan Rapinoe is a name that defined the USWNT during its successful reign in the last decade. She was instrumental in two Women’s World Cup wins (2015, and 2019) and an Olympic Gold medal win (2012). For her, however, these honors are second to the ‘more meaningful and more impactful work off the field‘, that helped her to make this world ‘a better place‘. That entailed fighting for federations, social causes, and a lot more off-the-field activity.

Megan Rapinoe has always spearheaded fights for LGBTQIA+ rights, racial justice, and equal pay. Recalling her Olympic journey, the Gold medalist detailed how soccer always kept her from sitting still and helped in her noble pursuits.

Rapinoe proudly recalls ‘leveraging success’ and fighting for the unspoken

In a recent conversation with NBC San Diego, Megan Rapinoe said soccer never allowed her to rest from relentlessly pursuing one accomplishment after the other. Her Olympic Gold and World Cup wins, among other honors are a testimony to that. Soon, she said, channeling such energy on off-field endeavors was the best thing she has done! “What makes me the most proud is all of our work off the field and how we’ve sort of leveraged our platform and our success on the field to make the world a better place in so many ways. Whether it’s fighting for racial justice, fighting for trans rights, fighting for equal pay and gay rights broadly,” Rapinoe said.

Soon, she revealed that she values such noble ‘fights’ above her career success. “Fighting for other federations, fighting for ourselves. I think all of that is so much more impressive and more meaningful and more impactful than anything we could do on the field,” she added. Over the years, she managed to gain the respect of the fanbase both for her soccer and non-soccer contributions, which is quite inspiring for younger stars! Though the 38-year-old has not spoken much about her Olympic career, she has indeed had a glorious run in the Olympic games.

Megan Rapinoe’s storied Olympic stint will live long!

Megan Rapinoe donned USWNT’s colors at the Olympic stage for the first time in 2012 in London. During this debut outing, Rapinoe tallied three goals and a team-high four assists. She also found the net straight off a corner kick, becoming that tournament’s first player to score an Olimpico. She partook in the 2016 Rio Olympics, where USWNT had to settle for a lackluster #5 finish.

READ MORE: Megan Rapinoe’s Ex-Coach Laura Harvey: NWSL Is Like ‘Playing in the Champions League Every Weekend’

In 2021, her last Olympics, Rapinoe scored twice and won the Bronze medal with the USWNT. In that tournament, she once again scored a goal directly off a corner. Now, the USWNT buckles up for another Olympic run in Paris, in July. But this time without the mighty Megan Rapinoe. However, the Parisian campaign is a perfect chance for the 38-year-old’s compatriots to re-surge from the shocking exit they had from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

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