Megan Rapinoe Confessed She Wasn’t Expecting Such an Outrage on Her Kneeling Incident in 2016 for Obvious Reasons

Star soccer player Megan Rapinoe is one of the most significant and outspoken personalities in the sports world. Since a very young age, the athlete has been a soccer fan. Nonetheless, it didn’t take her much time to represent the national women’s soccer team and get recognized as a legend of the game. Her dedication and enthusiasm toward the sport are also noteworthy. Furthermore, the athlete is an activist and is always vocal about her feelings whenever deemed necessary. 

In her book, “One Life”, Megan Rapinoe penned her views regarding the sport; that turns out to be the reason why she didn’t expect much of a backlash on her kneeling incident. 

Megan Rapinoe on soccer

Megan Rapinoe is a name that won’t fade away from the history of soccer easily. Given her achievements and accolades, Megan’s expertise in the sport is evident. 

Given her bold personality, in 2016, she supported the NFL player Colin Kaepernick in his fight against police brutality and racial discrimination. Megan took a knee at a friendly match held against Thailand in September of the same year. Following this, the soccer icon faced bitter criticism. Nonetheless, that didn’t stop her from taking a stand for what was right.

In November 2020, Megan’s book “One Life” was out for the first time. It covered the then situation of soccer in the United States and also stated why receiving such a huge outrage for her kneeling gesture was uncalculated. 

“If I didn’t rehearse outcomes before kneeling, it’s because kneeling, to me, felt more like an imperative than a choice,” the Olympic champion wrote. “Still, I wasn’t expecting much of a backlash.”

She added, “Compared to football or baseball, soccer has a relatively low profile in this country, particularly at the league level. The nine teams in the National Women’s Soccer League are very competitive, but they don’t exactly dominate the sports pages.” 

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According to her, soccer is not as popular as other sports like football and baseball. Even if the NWSL teams are producing striking outcomes, they are not widely recognized.

Mental health issues at the elite athlete level

Star soccer player Megan Rapinoe once voiced her opinion about mental health. She also appreciated Olympic gymnast Simone Biles for her brave step at the Tokyo Olympics. 

“The things that I go through are probably very similar to the things that a lot of people go through; whether it’s, you know, performance anxiety in a game or performance anxiety because you have to deliver a pitch at work,” Megan Rapinoe said. “Being an athlete in this time, Simone Biles talking about her mental health on the world stage I think was so helpful for all of us.”

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Many athletes, including Megan Rapinoe, believe that opening up about one’s mental health issues is the right step. The stigma regarding mental health is still prevalent and needs to vanish to give rise to a peaceful world.