It was after she scored the second of two goals against France that the image of the US footballer Megan Rapinoe was captured, her arms thrown out to the world, chest as proud as a sculpted bust. She had made herself as big as she could, settling in the ultimate power stance. As someone who has become an avid watcher of football this Women’s World Cup, who once felt I couldn’t play the game because of my gender, I felt her defiance, and I revelled in it.
Rapinoe has commandeered the global stage with pink-haired aplomb. In a video that was popularised last week she said, in no uncertain terms, that she would not be going to the White House if the US won the tournament. In response, Trump tweeted: “Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team.”
Rapinoe bit back with two excellent goals last week against home nation France on Friday: the first pounding through the legs of the opposition, the second a sweeping shot to the goalie’s left. She might have said she regrets using a profanity when discussing the Trump visit, but the photo of her triumph was an instant “screw you” to an establishment that continues to violate LGBT rights.
Rapinoe, who is in a relationship with the basketball player Sue Bird, has been politically outspoken for some time. She took the knee in support of the NFL’s Colin Kaepernick and the Black Lives Matter movement in 2016, and has consistently spoken up for LGBT rights. She came out after the 2011 Women’s World Cup.
“I feel like sports in general are still homophobic, in the sense that not a lot of people are out,” she told Out magazine in 2012, speaking about her sexuality for the first time. “I feel everyone is really craving [for] people to come out. People want – they need – to see that there are people like me playing soccer for the good ol’ US of A.”
England are playing the US in the semifinals on Tuesday. While I want to believe football’s finally coming home, there will be one other person I’ll be rooting for on the balmy pitch – someone who can fight back against big, bad presidents, and blast a twirling, crafty shot into the back of the net.
