Megan Rapinoe Celebrates ‘Equal Pay’ After US Loses Shot at World Cup – The American
When asked by an interviewer which memory stood out to her while playing on the U.S. women’s national soccer team, player Megan Rapinoe said, “Probably equal pay chance.”
“I think this team has always fought for so much more, and that’s been the most rewarding part for me, of course, playing in world cups, and winning in championships and doing all that,” Rapinoe explained. “But … to know that we’ve used our really special talent to do something, you know, that’s really, like, changed the world forever, I think that means the most to me.”
The comment followed the U.S. women’s national soccer team’s loss to Sweden on Sunday, which ended its participation in the World Cup.
Women’s Soccer Team Demands Equal Pay
In 2019, the team filed a gender discrimination suit against the United States Soccer Federation, which now pays both men and women at an equal rate, despite men’s soccer’s greater popularity with consumers. The suit was led by team members Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Becky Sauerbrunn, Hope Solo, and Carli Lloyd.
In 2022, CNN host Don Lemon pointed out that members of the men’s soccer team receive higher salaries because it generates more revenue than the women’s team.
About 1 billion people watched the FIFA Women’s World Cup — much less than the 3.5 billion who watched the men’s. Furthermore, the U.S. women’s team has a biological disadvantage, as the players do not have the same strength or skill as men. The team lost to a group of 15-year-old boys in a scrimmage in 2017.
Each sex has its respective talents. Simone Biles is known as one of the most talented gymnasts in the world, but few recognize Kohei Uchimura, one of the best male gymnasts. Women dominate the world of gymnastics because their bodies are better suited to it — just as men’s bodies are better suited to playing soccer.
However, the team’s, and especially Rapinoe’s, argument that female players are entitled to the same salaries as men, despite bringing in less revenue, reveals that some view protests and lawsuits — as opposed to talent, hard work, and determination — as the means to success.
Women’s Soccer Team Faces Criticism
Some conservatives have celebrated the loss because of the team’s history of far-left behavior. Rapinoe in particular has openly advocated for the LGBTQ+ agenda. In 2017, she said:
The more I’ve been able to learn about gay rights and equal pay and gender equity and racial inequality, the more that it all intersects.… God forbid you be a gay woman and a person of color in this country, because you’d be really f****d.
In July, Rapinoe argued in favor of self-identified transgender athletes replacing women in sports, despite the public’s wide opposition.
The U.S. women’s national soccer team has also faced criticism over its players’ openly unpatriotic behavior. The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro blasted Rapinoe, saying:
She’s spent her entire career pressing for the idea that America is a terrible, horrible place that has made her extraordinarily wealthy and famous for playing a sport that no one cares about worldwide.
During a recent controversy, half the team refused to sing the National Anthem during the World Cup, and Rapinoe has repeatedly knelt while the song has played.
“Many of our players were openly hostile to America,” former President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social. “No other country behaved in such a manner, or even close. Woke equals failure.”
Emma Verrigni is a rising sophomore at Hillsdale College studying history and journalism. A member of The American Spectator’s 2023 intern class, Emma enjoys reading philosophy and the news.
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Read More: Megan Rapinoe Celebrates ‘Equal Pay’ After US Loses Shot at World Cup – The American