SportsAsToldByAGirl Spotlight: Megan Rapinoe

If you’ve been following anything in the sports world, then you know about Colin Kaepernick and a handful of other NFL players who have been kneeling while the National Anthem is played. However, one person who has made a stir in women’s sports with her participation in the protest is Megan Rapinoe. As a professional soccer player and a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, Rapinoe is actually the first woman to join the protest but she has been advocating for LGBT rights long before now. That’s why Megan Rapinoe is this week’s spotlight.

Rapinoe has been playing soccer since childhood, mostly on teams coached by her father. In high school, however, she changed course by not playing for her high school’s team; instead playing for a club team, The Elk Grove Pride in Sacramento. She still ran track her freshman and sophomore year and played basketball as a freshman, sophomore and senior. She took the Elk Grove Pride to the US Youth Soccer National Championships where the team finished second.

In 2004, she and her twin sister, Rachael attended the University of Portland on soccer scholarships. Megan did not play soccer her first year due to competing in the FIFA Women’s World Championship. In 2005, she played her freshman year on the team, helping the team to go undefeated that season. The team went on to win College Cup that same year. She started every game that year and was named NSCAA First Team All-American, West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year and a member of the All-West Coast Conference First Team among other accolades.

In 2006, Rapinoe played in 11 matches before suffering an ACL injury, ending her season. Assuming she would be back to herself in 2007, Rapinoe was scheduled to play a full season. Unfortunately, another ACL injury sidelined her two games into the season. In 2008, Rapinoe was healthy again and helped the Pilots to a record of 20-2. She was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year that year. With her injuries, Rapinoe technically had another year of NCAA playing left, but decided to forego it to enter the Women’s Professional Soccer Draft.

At the draft, she was selected second overall by the Chicago Red Stars. Her first year with the Red Stars, Rapinoe started 17 of their 18 games and scored two goals. The next half of Rapinoe’s career becomes a little bit messy because the Chicago Red Stars were disbanded. She signed with an expansion team, the Philadelphia Independence and played in four games, scoring one goal. She would then be traded to the magicJack where she played in eight regular season games along with playoff games to take the team to the finals where they would eventually lose. In 2011, the WPS decided to terminate the magicJack franchise, leaving all of the ladies as free agents.

She would eventually play on three more teams before finding a permanent house; at least for now with the Seattle Reign FC. Her first season, Rapinoe only played in a little more than half of the team matches but finished the season with five goals, the highest of the team. In 2014, she was sidelined with a foot injury but came back later in the season, helping the team to make it into the championships before losing 2-1. She has only participated in one Olympic game in her career. At the 2012 London Olympics, she helped the USWNT clinch gold in their 2-1 victory over Japan.

In addition to her soccer career, she is a huge advocate for LGBT rights. She announced that she was a lesbian in 2012 and is engaged to Sera Cahoone. She was inducted into the  National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame and has done charity work with the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network. She became an ambassador for Athlete Ally in 2013 which is a “nonprofit organization that focuses on ending homophobia and transphobia in sports.” Her advocacy for LGBT rights has spilled over into her protest because she has also joined Colin Kaepernick in his protest because she said she knows how it feels to be treated differently as a gay American.

It’s nice to Rapinoe standing with Kap because there aren’t a lot of athletes in other leagues who would, knowing they could be risking endorsements like Brandon Marshall.  This quote pretty much sums up it, though, “Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties. It was something small that I could do and something that I plan to keep doing in the future and hopefully spark some meaningful conversation around it. It’s important to have white people stand in support of people of color on this. We don’t need to be the leading voice, of course, but standing in support of them is something that’s really powerful.” Despite how you feel about Kaepernick, it’s nice to see a female athlete actually participating in the protest. With an extensive career, a gold medal and now, more popular than ever, it’s a no-brainer why Megan Rapinoe is this week’s spotlight.