My Thoughts on Megan Rapinoe
Nearly 8 months. That's the last time I was on here writing something. It has been a long time but I'm back! I'm back because I have some thoughts about Megan Rapinoe that I just cannot contain and really want to get others opinions on it as well. So here we go.
In this year's Women's World Cup it seems as though the US Women's team took heat for four main things:
Rapinoe sitting/kneeling for the National Anthem.
Beating Thailand 13-0 in their first game.
Their celebrations: mainly Rapinoes' pose (above ) and Alex Morgan's tea-sipping gimmick (below)
4. Rapionoe saying that "I'm not going to the fucking White House."
So let's break it down by issue
Kneeling
Obviously this is not an image from this year's World Cup, but still is a reason people dislike her
People called her "anti-American" and I get it. We Americans are sensitive when players disrespect the few things we hold dear aka the flag and the National Anthem. When a player goes out of their way to not show respect for either one of those things we take it personally. Here's the thing though, how many players actually sing the National Anthem? Hell, how many people (athletes or not) actually know all the words!! I don't fault her for not singing because nobody does. I'm not thrilled with her kneeling, but she did revise her behavior as soon as the U.S. Federation made a statement about it. Her response for her kneeling was this.In 2016 she said that,
"Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at a flag and not have it protect all of your liberties."
In her Players' Tribune article she said that,
"I have chosen to kneel because I simply cannot stand for the kind of oppression this country is allowing against its own people."
Without getting too political, if she thinks the US oppresses the LGBTQ community then she should take a look at what other counties do. The difference is very noticeable. This quote is pertinent though and I will revisit it later. Next point.
Beating Thailand 13-0
People cried that it violated sportsmanship and blah blah blah. Guess what, Thailand was a +4700 underdog to win that game and the odds for them to win the World Cup were so high that they were not even listed. Of course people are going to be upset because we beat up on a bad team! If the US had beaten a powerhouse team like France or England or Germany then we would be celebrating because they are a top-notch team. I'm ok with pounding them 13-0 for a few reasons.
a. The World Cup is dictated by goal differentials, so by going +13, the US Women basically guaranteed that they had a top seeding for the next round of play and would not be caught in a tie-breaker situation.
b. This was a National team. If Thailand entered a team then they should be prepared to play the best and compete. Our team was better and won. It's the same reason we don't get upset when our Men's team fails to win - or more aptly, fails to qualify - they aren't good enough and would get beaten down if they made the tournament. If Thailand thought they were good enough to enter a team onto this stage then they have to be prepared for anything. They weren't. That's not the US's fault and if we don't want a result like that again then change the rules.
c. Like I said above, the US likes to flex our muscles. Thailand just happened to be on the receiving end of this flex. If we had done this to a powerhouse team or a team we truly didn't like or had a grudge match with, then we would be all for racking up the score. We just don't like looking like the bully when it's against a truly lesser team. So basically, it's ok to run the score up as long as it's against an opponent we deem "worthy." Seems like a fair standard, right?
The Celebrations
You know who likes to celebrate? LITERALLY EVERY SPORT IN AMERICAN CULTURE! The NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB all have their celebrations and guess what? WE LOVE THEM! We love MLB's bat-flips, we love the stare downs when an NBA player dunks on another. We love hockey players goal celebrations and we sure as hell love the touchdown celebrations in the NFL. In fact, we love the touchdown celebrations so much that we started petitions to fire Roger Goddell for trying to cut back on them. We are still fighting that fight. We kick and scream every time a player gets flagged for celebrating a touchdown and have resorted to calling the NFL the No Fun League. So what gives? Why is it ok for men's teams to celebrate but not the Women's National team? Alex Morgan is right when she says
You see men celebrating all around the world in big tournaments, you know, grabbing their sacks, or whatever it is. And when I look at sipping a cup of tea, I'm a little bit taken aback.
She's not wrong, going on to say that,
"I feel that there is some sort of double standard for females in sports, to feel like we have to be humble in our successes and have to celebrate, but not too much or in a limited fashion."
She's absolutely right. Here's a few example.
Jonathan Papelbon
Diego Simeone
Ronaldo
Marshawn Lynch
Von Miller
Most of these players took heat so Morgan is a little off-base on her quote, but still, there is a big difference between sipping tea and grabbing your cojones.
The White House
This is my biggest issue with Rapinoe. As we all know, she is a lesbian and is dating WNBA player Sue Bird. She is an advocate for the LGBTQ community and all the struggles they face. So why in the hell would you outright refuse the opportunity to visit the White House? The answer is because that President Trump, a conservative, doesn't really "support" the community, right? I would argue against that, but this is not a political post. I think that Rapinoe has an opportunity to use her spotlight and her platform to meet the President, a man she deems as being anti-LGBTQ. If she truly believes that to be the case then shouldn't she want to meet him and maybe challenge his opinions or discuss her stance and how she can work with the President to make changes? It seems that her ego is stopping her from possibly forging a bridge between a conservative party that has always been considered anti-LGBTQ (whether that's true or not) and the community itself. Seems like an easy win right?
I guess not.
If Trump can sit and talk policy with Kim Kardashian then I'm sure he would be open to talking about LGBTQ issues with Megan Rapinoe. And if there was even a remote possibility of that happening then Rapinoe should jump at the opportunity to help fight the "oppression" she mentioned earlier. It's easy for athletes to criticize, but Rapinoe is in a unique position - great talent, in the spotlight at the height of her career after accomplishing several feats that heave never been done before- she is an icon and a mouthpiece for the community she is an active member in, so why scoff at the opportunity to meet the person who could directly help your cause? Reneging his invitation - assuming one comes - would be the epitome of the saying "cutting of your nose to spite your face."
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think she could use her current spotlight to bring about a conversation that it seems - according to her - isn't happening.
What do you think?