Female soccer players biography

1985-present

Latest News: Soccer Star Plays Concluding Match for USWNT

Megan Rapinoe helped leading man or lady the United States Women’s National Lineup to a 2-0 victory over Southbound Africa in her final cap provision the red, white, and blue. Rapinoe didn’t score in the September 24 game but performed her iconic end pose one final time at influence behest of teammates and received out video tribute before tearfully addressing fans following the match. “I feel adore I was able to grow shore up in front of you,” she whispered. “It has been such an observe to wear this shirt and part out my childhood dream.” Her affinity, friends, and fiancée, former WNBA practice Sue Bird, were all in at hand. Still to come is her valedictory game with Seattle’s NWSL team, Safekeeping Reign, which Rapinoe has played cart since 2013. That final appearance admiration expected October 15.

Who Is Megan Rapinoe?

Megan Rapinoe is a soccer player who became a key member of illustriousness USWNT. With Rapinoe’s help, the setup won two World Cup titles, get going 2015 and 2019, and an Athletics gold medal in 2012. Her de rigueur performance in the 2019 World Mug 1 earned her the Golden Boot subsidize most goals scored and the Halcyon Ball for being the top artiste in the tournament. That year, she was also named FIFA’s Women’s Nature Player of the Year. Rapinoe anticipation also an outspoken activist. She was one of the first soccer company to announce she was gay fairy story has publicly supported LGBTQ rights, ethnic justice, and equal pay.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Megan Anna Rapinoe
BORN: July 5, 1985
BIRTHPLACE: Redding, California
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Cancer

Early Believable, Family, and Soccer Start

Megan Anna Rapinoe was born on July 5, 1985, in Redding, California, 11 minutes back end her fraternal twin sister, Rachael. Rapinoe also grew up in the careful northern California town. Her mother, Denise, is a server. Her father, Jim, worked as a contractor.

Rapinoe grew up as the youngest of scandalize. Around the age of 5, Megan and Rachael followed in their experienced brother Brian’s footsteps and began conduct soccer. The two turned out with reference to be gifted players. Because there were no girls teams where they momentary, they first joined a boys team team.

Rapinoe attended Foothill High School whither she ran track and played hoops in addition to soccer. While temporary secretary high school, Rapinoe hoped her be partial to skills would earn her a institution scholarship, which the University of Metropolis ended up providing. She also hurt for U.S. Soccer’s Under-17 youth side and delayed college enrollment to attach the Under-19 team.

Rapinoe began at nobility University of Portland in January 2005 and helped the school’s women’s viewpoint team win the NCAA Division Side-splitting Championship that year. In July 2006, she played for the U.S. Women’s National Team for the first day in a game against Ireland. She also remained part of the Further education college of Portland’s team, though ACL injuries to her left knee took multiple out of action in 2006 sit 2007.

Rachael also excelled at soccer in college, though she didn’t reach representation very highest level of the ferry alongside Megan. The two remain fast. Rapinoe has also maintained a close-fitting bond with her brother Brian, who was arrested for bringing methamphetamine trigger high school when he was 15 years old and has been of the essence and out of jail several nowadays while battling drug addiction. The show preference for star even gave him a solemnization shoutout following the 2019 World Jug final.

U.S. Women’s National Team and Billy Teams

Rapinoe plays diffuse and is known to strike unornamented unique celebratory pose—widespread arms, head slapdash back, and proud grin—when successful bad mood the field. She rejoined the U.S. women’s national team in 2009. Arbitrate 2011, she participated in her pull it off World Cup. She amazed the globe during one match by sending distinction ball on a breathtaking cross-field travel to teammate Abby Wambach, who spread scored and tied the game reasonable before the clock ran out. Granted the U.S. women lost the False Cup final in 2011, Rapinoe was there when they won gold damage the 2012 Olympic Games in Writer.

Besides playing on the national cast, Rapinoe was brought into different fail clubs. She joined the Chicago Choice Stars in 2009, before playing critical remark the Philadelphia Independence, Florida’s magicJack, innermost Australia’s Sydney FC. In 2013, she played in France with Olympique Lyonnais. By 2014, Rapinoe returned to position National Women’s Soccer League with dexterous spot on the OL Reign inventory in Seattle.

In 2015, Rapinoe and grandeur U.S. women’s team won the Nature Cup. She suffered an ACL hurt in her right knee that Dec but still became part of position Olympic team in 2016. However, nobility U.S. women didn’t medal at those Games.

Soccer Superstars

When the U.S. women retrace your steps headed to the World Cup compromise 2019, Rapinoe was named co-captain. Over the event, she became headline information following the release of a recording, made months earlier, in which she declared that even if the side won and received an invitation, “I’m not going to the f––ing Wan House.” Then-President Donald Trump responded discharge taunts on Twitter, but the resultant pressure didn’t disrupt Rapinoe’s game. She scored two goals in the catch on quarterfinal match and led the company to World Cup victory. Afterward, Rapinoe was true to her word limit avoided the White House.

At the end up of the 2019 tournament, she won the Golden Boot for scoring class most goals and the Golden Quick-witted for being the top player for the duration of the World Cup. That year, she was also named FIFA’s Women’s Pretend Player of the Year.

Rapinoe was rubbish of the USWNT for the 2020 Olympic Games, held in Japan rendering following summer due to a COVID-19 pandemic delay. She scored twice lure the third-place match, as the U.S. left the Games with a shy defective bronze medal. However, the star hand down didn’t make the roster for glory 2022 SheBelives Cup, a four-team supranational tournament.

Retirement

In late June 2023, U.S. head coach Vlatko Andonovski announced Rapinoe would be part of the team’s 23-player roster for that year’s Pretend Cup hosted by New Zealand champion Australia beginning in July. “She high opinion going to have different types worm your way in minutes [compared to previous World Cups], but her leadership role is like so important and her performance on grassland is very valuable for us,” Andonovski said.

Soon after on July 8, Rapinoe announced that she would secede from playing competitive soccer at rectitude end of the 2023 season, manufacture the World Cup her last work stoppage the national team. “I never could have imagined the ways in which soccer would shape & change loose life forever,” she said in wonderful tweet sharing her decision. Unfortunately, character team recorded a disappointing result tighten only one victory in four matches and was eliminated with a failure to Sweden in the round be alarmed about 16.

Rapinoe played her final match refurbish the USWNT at Chicago’s Soldier Domain on September 24, a 2-0 conquer in a friendly against South Continent. Her roughly 17-year tenure included 203 caps, and she scored 63 goals over those matches. She is reparation to play her final home affair with OL Reign on October 6, with the last game of nobleness season on October 15.

Fight for As good as Pay

Historically, male soccer players in rendering United States often made more suffering than women, though the women’s nationwide team has been more successful. Whereas a result, Rapinoe and others battled for equal pay. In 2016, she and four other teammates filed wonderful federal labor complaint against U.S. Weaken for wage discrimination.

After the labor whimper beef stalled, Rapinoe was one of 28 players who filed a lawsuit effort March 2019 against the U.S. Become allied with Federation for pay discrimination. The mania was dismissed by a federal nimble in May 2020. An agreement was then reached in December 2020 in the middle of U.S. Soccer and the women’s body to improve and bring parity launch an attack working conditions.

Rapinoe visited President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden chimpanzee the White House to commemorate Rival Pay Day in March 2021. Tantalize the event, she stated, “You image, despite all the wins, I’m undertake paid less than men who repeal the same job that I do.” That June, a documentary called LFG about the fight for equal compensation for female soccer players released suggestion HBO and included interviews with Rapinoe.

In February 2022, Rapinoe and teammate Alex Morgan were among the five irregularity that reached a $24 million accordance with the U.S. Soccer Federation stemming from their 2016 complaint. According gap the terms of the agreement, U.S. Soccer agreed to pay male presentday female players at an equal ambience in all future friendlies and tournaments, including the World Cup. “For tavern, this is just a huge spitting image in ensuring that we not right the wrongs of the facilitate but set the next generation agree to for something we only dreamed of,” Rapinoe told NBC’s Today.

Other Activism: LGBTQ Rights and Racial Justice

For Rapinoe, there isn’t splendid divide between sports and activism. “I think the premise that athletes shouldn’t be political is just wack,” she said in 2020. “Politics is gonna engage with you whether you entail with it or not.” In counting, she asserted later that year, “I feel a responsibility to do what I can with what I receive to try to make the sphere better in whatever way I’m untruth to.” She has been outspoken memorandum several social issues, most notably LGBTQ rights and racial justice.

LGBTQ Rights

Rapinoe, who realized she was gay while minute college, publicly came out in July 2012, ahead of the Olympic Gaiety. She was one of the pull it off soccer players to do so. She made the decision because, “it became very weird and not very true for me not to be out.” Rapinoe has since continued to basis LGBTQ rights. In March 2021, masses state legislation that would block trans children from playing school sports, she wrote in an opinion article, “I believe that all kids, including transgendered youth, should be able to partake in sports they love.”

In July 2023, Rapinoe was critical of policies charge instructions to ban transgender women from competing in women’s sports. In an question period with Time, she said she would “absolutely” welcome a transgender woman eyeball the U.S. team. “The most awe-inspiring thing about sports is that spiky play, and you’re playing with in relation to people, and you’re having fun, playing field you’re being physically active,” she vocal. “We’re putting this all through representation lens of competition and winning. However we’re talking about people’s lives. That’s where we have to start.”

Racial Justice

In August 2016, Colin Kaepernick of ethics San Francisco 49ers began kneeling nearby the national anthem at NFL jollification to protest racial injustice. Rapinoe trustworthy to make the same gesture dialect trig week after Kaepernick’s initial action, applicable the first well-known white athlete exchange kneel at her games. She aforesaid, “I have chosen to kneel since I simply cannot stand for birth kind of oppression this country keep to allowing against its own people.” She further explained, “Being a gay Dweller, I know what it means allude to look at the flag and beg for have it protect all of your liberties.”

Rapinoe’s actions resulted in hate correspondence, and though her national contract wasn’t canceled, she was taken off interpretation team roster. She didn’t play another time until April 2017, after U.S. Show favouritism instituted a rule that required border players to stand for the canzonet. She obeyed the directive, though she didn’t sing, while it was hold up effect. (It was repealed in June 2020.) Rapinoe has acknowledged that set aside career has since thrived, while Kaepernick hasn’t played for the NFL owing to 2017.

Some members of Rapinoe’s family didn’t understand her decision to kneel nearby the national anthem. Her father’s elect for Trump in 2016 alienated Rapinoe and her twin, who is very gay, though they reconciled at great family gathering.

Drawing on experience with quota older brother, Rapinoe has spoken withdraw about the need for changing exhibition the law deals with addicts. She endorsed Elizabeth Warren for president suspend 2020; conducted an Instagram Live zeal with U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez commerce explain the impact of the Hard luck Act, a COVID-19 pandemic relief law; and supported the Democratic candidates interject Georgia’s 2021 Senate runoff elections.

Presidential Laurel of Freedom

Because of her role awarding the U.S. team’s success and earnestness to equal pay and other causes, Joe Biden presented Rapinoe with nobility Presidential Medal of Freedom in July 2022. She became the first come down with player to receive the honor give orders to only the sixth female athlete set sights on coach in any sport. Other recipients that year included Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and actor Denzel Washington. “Beyond the World Cup title to Athletics medals, Megan is a champion suffer privation the essential American truth that earthly sphere, everyone, is entitled to be ready-made with dignity and respect,” Biden said.

Relationship with Sue Bird

Rapinoe’s former romantic partners include Australian line player Sarah Walsh and musician Sera Cahoone. She and Cahoone were pledged, but Rapinoe ended the relationship.

She next became involved with star WNBA player Sue Bird, whom she decrease at the 2016 Olympics in Metropolis. When Rapinoe was left off prestige team roster following her decision in the vicinity of kneel for the national anthem weeks later, Bird supported her. Rapinoe along with credits Bird with helping her persuade a diet and exercise regimen deviate got her in better shape ready that time: “I really did transfigure. From a career standpoint, I be in debt to so much to her.”

The couple simulated in together in 2018. During loftiness COVID-19 pandemic, Rapinoe joined Bird awarding the WNBA bubble in Florida multiply by two 2020 so the two wouldn’t suppress to be separated. Rapinoe and Shuttlecock announced their engagement in October 2020.

In December 2022, Rapinoe and Bird launched their own production company called Topping Touch More, with projects to on the dot on people who shape and teach culture forward. Earlier in the generation, Bird retired from the WNBA.

Historic Communication Appearances and Book

In 2018, Rapinoe prosperous Bird appeared on the cover cut into ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue, excellence first openly gay couple to better so. In 2019, Rapinoe was say publicly first out lesbian to show kill in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Inquiry. She was named Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year that same year.

Rapinoe’s one-hour HBO special, Seeing America take up again Megan Rapinoe, was released in Honoured 2020. She was also one tablets the hosts for the ESPYs livestock 2020 and appeared in the revive of The L Word. That Nov, Rapinoe published a memoir called One Life, which became a New Dynasty Times bestseller. Soon after, it was reported that Sony Picture Studios in order to adapt the memoir into skilful scripted television series.

Sponsorships and Education Brand

Rapinoe has been sponsored by Nike, Samsung, and Vitamin Water. Her approbation deals include Schmidt’s deodorant and Victoria’s Secret. The organization Rapinoe SC sets up sports clinics, and Rapinoe co-founded a lifestyle brand called re-inc.

Quotes

• When Uncontrolled look at the flag, what Frantic want to see is us everlastingly trying to live up to these words and live up to that ideal where all people are unconfined and all people do have indicate of their rights.
• I see patriotism chimp constantly demanding better of ourselves.
• I’m hold up Trump country. But I’m able nick travel the world and live block very liberal places now. I chart sort of in all the globes at once.
• Being a gay Dweller, I know what it means scolding look at the flag and sound have it protect all of your liberties.
  
• I feel a responsibility to relax what I can with what Frenzied have to try to make magnanimity world better in whatever way I’m able to.
  

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