Megan Rapinoe Reveals the ‘Mind Trick’ She Used on Herself to Help Achieve Equal Pay for USWNT Players

The USWNT’s fight for equal pay is an inspiring story. Led by a group of players, including Megan Rapinoe, who led from the front, they dominated the headlines for their noteworthy fight for justice. Hence, the USWNT came to a settlement of $24 million. The deal also sees both the USMNT and USWNT paid equally in future tournaments and even the World Cup.

Indeed, this comes as a great victory for all the players involved and for the generations to come. But undoubtedly, it wasn’t as easy as it looks.

In a recent interview, Megan talked about the protests and how she set her mind to achieve the ultimate goal. Giving an insight into the mind of a fighter, she opens up on her struggles with the fight for equal pay.

Megan Rapinoe on her fighting mindset

Playing at a high level for a long time, Rapinoe brought success to her country. She won the Olympic gold medal for her team at the 2012 London Olympics, two World Cups in 2015 and 2019 respectively, while also winning the best player award in 2019.

Despite these being the greatest achievements in her career, she spoke about getting paid less for her historic efforts. Now, as Rapinoe talked about the battles she faced, she opened up on how she focused her mind on the task ahead.

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“I think about how long I’ve played and how little money I’ve been able to make from playing soccer at the level that I’ve been able to play. Think how hard we have to work on and off the field. Think about you guys and think about other athletes.”

“And think about all of the other things. I think I kind of like do a mind trick on myself where it’s like, I’m part of the group that’s fighting for more and so that’s who I have to answer to,” said Rapinoe.

The discrepancy in pay

The 2018 Men’s FIFA World Cup in Russia saw 32 teams take part and had a pot prize of $400 million. Notably, France won the World Cup and was awarded $38 million for being champions. On the contrary, the 2019 Women’s World Cup in Russia saw 24 teams competing for just $30 million. The USWNT received $4 million for winning the world cup. The gap was significant, with France gaining much higher prize money than the entire budget of the Women’s World Cup.

Now, after a long-standing battle, the USWNT finally had their rights recognized. By agreeing to a settlement, Megan Rapinoe and others finally achieved their dreams and won the fight for equal pay.

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