Megan Rapinoe

About

Megan Rapinoe is an American soccer player, Olympic gold medalist, and FIFA Women’s World Cup champion. She is the captain of Reign FC and is the co-captain of US women’s national soccer team along with Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan.

She is a spokeswoman for LGBT Community and in 2012, she opened up to ‘Out magazine’ that she is a lesbian. Her friends and family already knew about this, but she spoke out in public because she felt that it would help others.

Megan Rapinoe stated - "I don't feel like there's anything wrong with me and I feel like actually, I'm pretty special".

Megan Rapinoe Position

Midfielder/Winger

Rapinoe is a midfielder who can also play as a winger or in the attacking midfield position. She is known for her fancy footwork and her style. As of now, she is the 5th highest all-time assist maker in her national team.

Megan Rapinoe Career

International Career

Rapinoe has helped her national team win the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015 and finished runner-up in 2011 FIFA World Cup. She also won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and scored the famous Olimpico goal in that tournament. After that, she became the first and only player to score from a corner in an Olympic game.

Club Career

At club level, she initially played for Chicago Red Stars at the inaugural Women’s Professional Soccer and was eventually named in the all-star team. After her stint with Chicago Red Stars, she played for Philadelphia Independence, MagicJack, Sydney FC, Seattle Sounders Women and then moved to Olympique Lyonnais where she reached the finals of the UEFA Champions League. Rapinoe joined Reign FC in 2013 and is the current captain and all-time top goalscorer for them.

Megan Rapinoe Family

Megan Rapinoe Twin Sister

Megan Rapinoe has a twin sister named Rachael Rapinoe. They both used to play soccer all day long in their childhood. Rachael and Megan played together in Elk Grove United and Portland Pilots in the earlier stages of their career. A knee ligament injury forced Rachael to retire from soccer.

Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe

Megan Rapinoe is dating professional basketball player Sue Bird since 2016 and they both are in a serious relationship. Sue bird plays for Seattle Storm and has been voted in the WNBA's top 15 players of all time. Rapinoe has previously been in a relationship with an Australian soccer player, Sarah Walsh, and singer, Sera Cahoone.

Megan Rapinoe Protest

Megan Rapinoe Kneeling

Megan Rapinoe decided to kneel at the time of National anthem against the Red Stars in Chicago in 2016. This was in support of Colin Kaepernick who did the same to protest against racial injustice, LGBT rights, and minority oppression. Soon after, US soccer rewrote its rules, instructing the players to stand for the national anthem. Megan Rapinoe continued the protest by standing, but not singing the national anthem.

In the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, she has been a star performer for her nation but has refused to sing the national anthem to continue the protest against the government. She stands against the police brutality on minorities and social inequality. She is also an outspoken advocate of LGBT organizations and believes that the Trump government is biased towards them. During the recent World Cup, she quoted “I’m not going to the f***ing white house” and made her intentions clear that she is not interested in meeting him.

Megan Rapinoe Celebrations

Megan Rapinoe Born in the USA

During a World Cup group stage match against Columbia in 2011, she came on as a substitute and scored a goal. After scoring, she ran towards the corner of the ground, picked up an on-field microphone, tapped it and said the words “Born in the USA”. She basically took it from the song “Born in the U.S.A” by Bruce Springsteen.

Megan Rapinoe Statue Celebration

Rapinoe’s usual celebration is the statue celebration where after scoring a goal, she stretches her arms and stands like a statue in front of the crowd.

ESPN Body Issue Magazine

In 2018, Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird became the first same-sex couple to be on the cover of ESPN’s body issue. The issue features nude and semi-nude photographs of athletes and celebrities and was first issued in 2009. Both Rapinoe and Bird were proud to be the first openly gay couple to be on the cover.