Megan Rapinoe has had a lot to say this week, with the Women’s World Cup now over.
The USWNT exited the competition in the RO16, with Rapinoe missing a key penalty in a shootout against Sweden. Spain has since won the tournament, beating England 1-0 on Sunday.
The U.S. women’s team has gotten on the end of lots of criticism recently, with Rapinoe attracting the brunt of it, even to the point where some American fans cheered as she missed that spot kick vs. Sweden.
Commentator Alexi Lalas has also suggested that the player politics has made the USWNT “unlikeable” to a large part of the country.
The forward addressed Lalas’s comments in an interview with The Atlantic this week, claiming that the backlash is really against women.
“Yeah, it was really disappointing—and the speed with which those comments got into the atmosphere,” she said. “Everybody on the right—and everybody who was using hateful language and these tropes—it’s like they have just been waiting since, I don’t know, 2016? 2019? They’ve been waiting for this team to stumble. But when we are perfect, then we are accused of thinking that we’re perfect.
“Really, what’s happening is that the right wing wants this to be true: They want women to believe that you can’t fight for things and be excellent; you can’t ask for what you deserve and be successful. But the reality is, we’re doing that.
“Beyoncé is doing that. Taylor Swift is doing that. Coco Gauff is doing that. We are still great on the field, and we’re fighting for equality, and it’s better for our bottom line and the sport’s.”
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“One thing that America does really well is backlash. I think there’s a huge backlash against women happening right now,” she added.
Rapinoe has also lashed out at Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales, who was shown kissing a Spain player on the lips after Sunday’s final, accusing him of assault.
