Megan Rapinoe will play her fourth World Cup in Australia-New Zealand in 2023.Getty Images
when did you meet Megan Rapino? When did you make your sexual orientation public? When did you kneel during the US national anthem? When did you get into a verbal altercation with Donald Trump? One of the best football players in history, by far the vast majority, is more known for her off-the-ball performance than for scoring goals, assists or winning titles. Or, to put it simply, and even more strongly, it is a stranger.
Rapino is a football legend. World Champion in Canada 2015 and France 2019. -where she was the scorer and recognized as the best in the tournament-, Gold medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, World runner-up in Germany 2011 and winner of the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award 2019., are the most outstanding achievements of a brilliant career. Undoubtedly a great link Team USA.
The last chapter of her sports history will be written in 2023. Megan have already announced that Australia-New Zealand will be their last World Cup. and that he will retire at the end of the current NWSL season, which has been suspended due to world Cup.
This is the symbol on the field. Great in terms of how he plays, in his goals, in his way of hitting the ball, in his attack and in his passing. Persistence in recovering from injuries that prevented her from playing in the 2007 World Cup and 2008 Olympics, the impact on two consecutive world titles and an Olympic gold medal, and the validity that puts her at that age. out of 38, as a fundamental part of the powerful US team.
The joy of a champion: Megan Rapinoe won her second World Championship in France in 2019.Getty Images
He is also an off-field icon. For his commitment, his fight for equality, his fight against discrimination and his courage to speak up for his beliefs. She is one of those athletes who are not only not minimized if their actions are discussed outside of sports activities, but also encouraged.
And thanks to the combination of what he creates as a football player and his influence outside of sports, he even starred with Zlatan Ibrahimovic in an animated film. Football movie about footballin which a scientist steals their talent and they have to get it back with the help of fanatics.
HIS SEXUAL ORIENTATION, FIRST NON-SPORTING IMPACT
IN One lifeIn her autobiography, Rapino detailed the moment she decided to go public about her sexual orientation. “On the way back from Germany (after the 2011 World Cup) we were in a bad mood, exhausted. I sat between Alex Morgan and Laurie Lindsey, to whom I turned and resumed our conversation about why the athletes didn’t do it. “I wasn’t open about my sexual orientation, especially when they were at high risk. Our team wasn’t popular until that World Cup, but then we got it, and yet I didn’t feel good about it. It was Strange situation.I spent a whole year reading about gay rights and laws, which made me more politically aware.I realized that speaking out about my pride in my sexual orientation would be part of a process that would have a positive impact.None of my gay classmates didn’t say it and I felt if she didn’t say it she was hiding it,” Meghan wrote.
Because she came out as gay in an interview published in July 2012 by the magazine outside, opened the door to other sports figures so that they could speak on this topic without fear. And from there, she began working alongside her partner, basketball player Sue Bird, as an activist and spokesperson for athletes’ rights, and to promote the LGBTI+ collective.
BATTLE FOR EQUALITY
One of the demands that Rapinoe took upon herself and led to exhaustion, and which she eventually achieved, was to ask the Federation of the United States for equal pay for men and women.
Although she achieved her goal after a grueling struggle, Rapino knows that what she has created has not yet been replicated in other countries, even in FIFA, which pays out much smaller prizes in the women’s world championships.
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