Megan Rapinoe is accusing former OL Reign coach Farid Benstiti of making fat-shaming remarks to players before being asked to resign last season.
The coach was forced to resign last July, but not much was revealed as to why the move was made. However, the Washington Post reported in October that a complaint was filed against Benstiti for verbal abuse, specifically that he “allegedly made inappropriate comments to players regarding their fitness and nutrition.”
In a recent NPR interview, Rapinoe corroborated those allegations as an example of “abuse the players have put up with over the years” in women’s soccer.
“He made some — it was basically like a fat-shaming comment,” Rapinoe said. “He was talking about — he’s going to, like, take people’s food away. And I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, grow up. You just got yourself fired; you’re so stupid.'”
“But, like, just little stuff like that where if you’re making $25,000 and you have no autonomy over your rights, you have—you’re not a free agent. You’re barely scraping by. You just came out of college. Like, you’re not going to say anything. You’re just not. Like, it’s too difficult to put someone in that position.”
Benstiti has a nasty history of fat shaming. Rapinoe’s USWNT teammate Lindsey Horan said on the Butterfly Road podcast last year that she “wanted to quit soccer” after the French coach criticized her weight in front of the Paris Saint-Germain club.
