US football star Megan Rapinoe proposed to her WNBA basketball star girlfriend Sue Bird at the weekend.
Bird shared a picture of the proposal on Instagram, showing Rapinoe down on one knee placing a ring on her finger. The pair have been in a relationship for three years.
Bird is an Israeli-American professional basketball athlete for Seattle Storm, and has won four WNBA titles with the team. She is also a four-time Olympic gold medal winner.
Recognisable on the pitch for her bright purple hair, Rapinoe has helped deliver the US football team to victory in the World Cup in both 2015 and 2019. She also won Fifa's Women's Player award in 2019.
Extremely vocal when it comes to womens’ and LGBT rights, Rapinoe notably refused a possible visit to the White House in 2019, when President Trump tweeted: "We haven't yet invited Megan [Rapinoe] or the team, but I am now inviting the TEAM, win or lose." Rapinoe urged her teammates to “think hard” about supporting President Trump.
Rapinoe also kneeled in solidarity with NFL player Colin Kaepernick, protesting police brutality, during the American national anthem.
The US football player has frequently campaigned for equal pay, and argues that male US football players are paid disproportionately more, despite the women’s national team being more accomplished. The men’s US football team has never won a World Cup, the women’s team has won four times. In March, the US women's football team filed a lawsuit against its own federation, seeking $66m (£52.8m) in damages under the Equal Pay Act. The case was thrown out in May.
Presidential nominee Joe Biden urged on the team and told them not to "give up this fight", and continue in their efforts for change: “This is not over yet,” he said.
