Final World Cup and Retirement
Rapinoe was not named to the United States national team for the 2022 SheBelieves Cup, a four-team international event. With its success at the CONCACAF Championship, the team qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup the following year.
Rapinoe was named to the United States’ 23-player roster for the World Cup, which will be held by New Zealand and Australia commencing in July 2023, by head coach Vlatko Andonovski in late June 2023. “She will play different types of minutes [than in previous World Cups], but her leadership role is critical, and her performance on the field is extremely valuable to us,” Andonovski said.
Rapinoe revealed on July 8 that she would retire from competitive soccer at the end of the 2023 season, making the World Cup her final with the national team. “I could never have imagined the ways in which soccer would shape & change my life forever,” she stated in a tweet announcing her decision.
Fight for Equal Pay
Male soccer players in the United States frequently earned more money than female players, despite the fact that the women’s national team has been more successful. Rapinoe and others have fought for equitable compensation as a result. In 2016, she and four other teammates filed a federal salary discrimination complaint against US Soccer.
Rapinoe was one of 28 players who filed a pay discrimination case against the US Soccer Federation in March 2019 after the labor complaint was postponed. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit in May 2020. In December 2020, an agreement was struck between US Soccer and the women’s squad to improve and equalize working conditions.
Rapinoe paid a visit to President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the White House in March 2021 to mark Equal Pay Day. “You see, despite all the wins,” she said during the occasion, “I’m still paid less than men who do the same job that I do.”
Rapinoe and teammate Alex Morgan were among the five players that struck a $24 million settlement with the US Soccer Federation in February 2022 as a result of their 2016 lawsuit. U.S. Soccer promised to pay male and female players equally in all future friendlies and events, including the World Cup, under the conditions of the agreement. “For us, this is just a huge win in ensuring that we not only right the wrongs of the past, but also set the next generation up for something we only dreamed of,” Rapinoe told TODAY.
Other Activism: Racial Justice
Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers began kneeling during the national anthem before NFL games in August 2016 to protest racial inequality. Rapinoe made the same move a week after Kaepernick’s first protest, becoming the first well-known white player to kneel during a game.”I have chosen to kneel because I simply cannot stand for the kind of oppression this country allows against its own people,” she explained. “As a g-ay American, I know what it’s like to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties,” she added.
Rapinoe’s conduct drew criticism, and while her national contract was not terminated, she was removed from the squad roster. She didn’t play again until April 2017, when U.S. Soccer implemented a rule requiring all players to stand for the national anthem. She followed the order, but she didn’t sing while it was in place. (It is set to be repealed in June 2020.) Rapinoe’s career has since flourished, although Kaepernick hasn’t played for the NFL since 2017.
Rapinoe’s family members were perplexed by her decision to kneel during the national anthem. Rapinoe and her twin, who is also lesbian, were estranged by her father’s vote for Trump in 2016, though they bonded at a family meeting.
Rapinoe has spoken out about the need to change how the law treats addicts, drawing on her experience with her elder brother. She endorsed Elizabeth Warren for president, held an Instagram Live session with U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to discuss the CARES Act’s impact, and backed Democratic candidates in Georgia’s Senate runoff elections in 2021.
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Joe Biden awarded Rapinoe the Presidential Medal of Freedom in July 2022 in recognition of her contribution to the success of the United States team and her commitment to equal pay and other issues. She was only the sixth female athlete or coach in any sport to receive the award, and she was the first soccer player to do so. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and actor Denzel Washington were among the other honorees that year. “Beyond the World Cup and Olympic medals, Megan is a champion for the essential American truth that everyone, everyone, is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect,” Biden said.
Relationship with Sue Bird
Rapinoe’s ex-girlfriends include Australian footballer Sarah Walsh and vocalist Sera Cahoone. She and Cahoone were engaged, but Rapinoe called it quits. She then started connected with WNBA star Sue Bird, whom she met at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Bird stood behind Rapinoe when she was dropped off the team roster due to her decision to kneel during the national anthem. Rapinoe also credits Bird with assisting her in sticking to a diet and fitness plan that helped her get in better shape at the time: “I really did transform.” I owe her so much in terms of my career.”
In 2018, the couple moved in together. Rapinoe joined Bird in the WNBA bubble in Florida in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic so the two would not have to be separated. Rapinoe and Bird are getting married in October 2020.
Rapinoe and Bird formed their own production company, A Touch More, in December 2022, with projects focusing on people who shape and carry culture forward. Bird announced her retirement from the WNBA earlier this year.
Historic Media Appearances, Book, and More
Rapinoe and Bird were the first openly homosexual pair to feature on the cover of ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue in 2018. Rapinoe was the first out lesbian to appear in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2019. That same year, she was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year.
Rapinoe appeared in the 2021 documentary LFG, which chronicled the campaign for equal pay for female soccer players. Seeing America With Megan Rapinoe, a one-hour HBO special, will air in August 2020. Rapinoe also hosted the ESPYs in 2020 and participated in the revamp of The L Word.
Rapinoe released her memoir, One Life, in November 2020, and it quickly became a New York Times best-seller. Soon after, Sony Picture Studios announced plans to adapt the memoir into a scripted television series.
Sponsorships and Lifestyle Brand
Nike, Samsung, and Vitamin Water have all supported Rapinoe. Schmidt’s deodorant and Victoria’s Secret are among her endorsements. Rapinoe SC is a sports clinic organization, and Rapinoe co-founded the re-inc lifestyle brand.
