“Affected His Understanding of the World”: Megan Rapinoe Changed Life Perspective of Three Time Oscar Winner’s Son

Olympic Gold medalist soccer player Megan Rapinoe is an inspiration to many. She is the captain of OL Reign and serves as the co-captain of the US Women’s National Soccer team. Megan is the recipient of ‘The Presidential Medal of Freedom,’ the highest civilian award in the United States of America. She is one of the six women and the first soccer player to ever receive this award.

Megan Rapinoe has been very vocal about social issues with a belief that through her advocacy she can help a lot of people. She has spoken a lot about gender discrimination recently. “There’s no level of status and there’s no accomplishment or power that will protect you from the clutches of inequality,” she said based on her experience as a professional athlete as well as a human.

Megan Rapinoe is an inspiration for youth, including Natalie Portman’s son

Hollywood star and three-time Oscar winner Natalie Portman attended a USWNT event last year and got the opportunity to meet the players. She was watching the game with her son, Aleph Portman-Millepied. After the game, she met Megan Rapinoe and the other players. “I was watching her games with my son and it affected his understanding of the world and inspired him to see things in a certain way,” she said while speaking to People’s Magazine.

Speaking about the conversation they had, Natalie revealed how she told her son about social justice issues. She believes that sports have a great influence on children. 

DIVE DEEPER: “Don’t Let That Girl Beat You”: Megan Rapinoe Outclassing Men on Field Led to Male Competitors Parents Making Unsettling Comments About Her

“I see what important role sports have in children, in terms of what they spend their time doing and their friendships,” she said. With this Megan stands as an inspiration not only to the youth but to her fellow athletes as well. She set out an example to other athletes to be outspoken about the underlying issues in society.

Megan’s inspiring activism

Megan Rapinoe spoke about how gender discrimination exists in society. Megan along with 28 other teammates sued the United States Soccer Federation because of the gender-based pay disparity. They went forward with the lawsuit alleging that the federation engages in ‘institutional gender discrimination’ towards the women’s team.

She testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform via video conferencing. Rapinoe narrated how her teammates and herself did put forward remarkable performances exceeding the Men’s team, yet they did not received adequate compensation.

WATCH THIS STORY: Megan Rapinoe, Lindsay Von, Chloe Kim, Allyson Felix, and Other Olympians appear at ESPYS 2022.

Megan’s battle for equal pay is still underway. In the process, she has been inspiring a generation with her activism.