Megan Rapinoe, the controversial soccer icon that changed women’s sport forever, says goodbye

Megan Rapinoe stepped up to take the seventh penalty of what was an extraordinary shootout. She took a deep breath, took one more look at the goal and struck the ball hard and high… too high. Her effort flew over the crossbar. She turned away and smiled. She couldn’t believe what has just happened.

Megan Rapinoe’s last touch of a ball wearing a US shirt was her penalty miss against Sweden.

The striker couldn’t contain her emotion after the game. Her eyes were filled with tears. She smiled again-it was an ironic smile, one that emanated total disbelief. She was surrounded by her teammates, many of whom consoled her.

Having announced her retirement in the lead up to the World Cup, this was an incredibly disappointing way to say goodbye to the US Women’s National Team and sport as a whole. It certainly isn’t how Rapinoe would have envisaged it to happen.

“For me I walk away from the game having gotten everything out of it that I possibly could. I’ve enjoyed every moment, and celebrated, and fought, and just laid it all out there,” said Rapinoe after the game. “But at the same time, as hard as this is, I feel like I’m ready to go.”

“I’ve always tried to use whatever platform we have – and this platform was built long before I got here and we’ve just continued to add to it – to grow the game, to make the world a better place, to use our voices to advocate for more,” she explained, when asked about her legacy.

And no one can argue with that.

Whether it’s on the pitch or off it, Rapinoe has arguably become the most recognizable and iconic face of Women’s football. Over the course of her illustrious career that’s spanned almost 20 years, the player has used her platform to both simultaneously grow the women’s soccer game and fight for the causes so important to her.

And it’s been an emotional ride- a roller coaster which has seen her be both a hero and villain. She’s been idolized and vilified. She’s been questioned by some and supported by others. Whatever your thoughts are on Megan Rapinoe, what cannot be denied is the immeasurable influence she’s had on the social, political, economic and on-field components that make up football.

The G.O.A.T of Women’s soccer?

The USWNT’s major successes on the pitch have seen it become a global brand. Its most high-profile recent successes- particularly at the 2015 and 2019 World Cups- would not have been possible without Megan Rapinoe.

But it was in 2011 that she really announced herself on the world stage. In the quarterfinals of that edition, the team were on the brink of being knocked out by Brazil. They were one-nil down in the 122 minute- just seconds away from losing- when Rapinoe pulled out one of the crosses of the tournament to set up an Abby Wambach at the far post to level the game. It’s become one of the most iconic Women’s World Cup moments.

That moment was an early indication of the impact Rapinoe would have on the pitch at major tournaments in the years to come and after helping the team lift the trophy in 2015, her stardom was elevated to a whole new level in 2019.

She was instrumental in the team’s second consecutive triumph at a World Cup in France. She won the Golden Boot after notching six goals in the competition and was also awarded the Golden Ball. Shortly after the tournament, she won the greatest individual prize of them all: Ballon d’Or Féminin. She was also named ‘The Best FIFA Women’s Player’.

“Her successes helped to grow the game on the global stage and have since pathed the way for others to be successful. She’s a player that has really changed the game, not only in the US but globally,” said long time teammate Alex Morgan before the loss to Sweden. She’s been a leader for so long at the highest stage. She had a huge impact player and so the game will absolutely miss her. She’s helped pave the way for a new generation to come up and be able to come into this game in a better place because of her.”

Activism and dividing opinion

Rapinoe has been steadfast in her long struggle for gender equality and inclusion, something she herself recognized at this tournament. “I think being a women’s professional athlete we know what the injustices are, at least those that we have felt and so, I think it makes it easy for us to be an ally in other ways. That’s the real legacy I think, the most important legacy of this team. And then, of course, we’ve been able to do something really special which is coupled with being incredibly successful over a long period of time.”

Her first high-profile protest came in 2016 when she knelt during when the national anthem was being played just before a friendly game against the Netherlands. The gesture was an attempt to bring more attention to the issues of racial injustice in the United States, and was carried out in solidarity with black NFL player Colin Kaepernick.

Fast forward a few years later and the USWNT- led by ‘Pinoe’- were engaged in a war with their own federation. In 2019, just a few months before the World Cup in France was due to kick-off, they sued US Soccer for ‘gender discrimination’.

“The female players have been consistently paid less money than their male counterparts. This is true even though their performance has been superior to that of the male players – with the female players, in contrast to male players, becoming world champion,” began the official documented submitted to the United States District Court of California by players such as Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Becky Sauerbrunn.

Once the World Cup had kicked off in Canada, it was revealed that Rapinoe has said that she would “not fucking go to the White House” if the team managed to lift to trophy, to which the president at the time Donald Trump replied: “Megan should WIN first before she TALKS! Finish the job!”. Trump’s comment came back to bite him after the winger scored one of the two goals in the final. It was a tense time for the national team- Rapinoe’s values seemed to be at odds with those of the President.

Megan Rapinoe reflects on her legacy: “I’ve tried to make the world a better place”

In May 2022, Rapinoe and her teammates finally had a breakthrough when a labor agreement was reached which stated that US men and women’s international teams would receive equal World Cup prize money pay. The moment, which has since brought enormous attention to the economic disparity between men and women in football, cemented her image as an iconic in the sphere of activism

Trans rights

Her views on transgender inclusion have arguably been the most divisive. That’s no surprise- it’s not really a topic about which people tend to sit on the fence. She’s been a staunch supporter of trans rights and the participation of transgender athletes in sport, even saying that she’d welcome a transgender soccer star onto the USWNT. “‘You’re taking a “real” woman’s place,’ that’s the part of the argument that’s still extremely transphobic. I see trans women as real women. What you’re saying automatically in the argument-you’re sort of telling on yourself already-is you don’t believe these people are women. Therefore, they’re taking the other spot. I don’t feel that way,” she explained to TIME Magazine.

“Show me the proof that trans women are stealing everyone’s scholarships, dominating every sport, and winning every title,” she told Time Magazine in 2020. “I’m sorry, but it’s just not going to happen. I’m 100 per cent supportive of trans inclusion. People do not know very much about it. We’re missing almost everything”. Her views have sparked a huge debate across the sporting world and more generally in society too.

Despite Rapinoe’s saying goodbye to the USWNT and soccer, her huge impact will see her legacy live on forever. Although it’s a sad way to go, she departs as one of the all-time greats of the game.