Get to Know Megan Rapinoe
By Margaret Coleman
By Margaret Coleman
Megan Rapinoe is known by many as a champion soccer player, activist, and overall impressive person. But let’s take a deeper dive into her life, professional career, and movement.
Rapinoe grew up in Redding, California. She started playing soccer at the early age of 3 and has been playing ever since. Playing on teams coached by her father, she began to develop a love for the game. She played on the under 14 olympic development team during middle school and continued rising in the ranks. She went on to play in the 2004 FIFA women's world championship while learning at the University of Portland in Portland, Oregon. After playing on a few other club teams, Rapinoe joined the Chicago Red Stars, a team in the Women's Professional Soccer League. She later joined MagicJack, another team in the league, and eventually ended up with Seattle Reign, based in Seattle, Washington.
As for her work with activism, Rapinoe takes a stand for issues such as Equal pay, gender equality, racism, and LGBTQ+ rights. When told she wasn’t allowed to play if she kneeled during the national anthem, she instead made the same gesture by standing in silence with her hands off of her heart. In addition, after her World Cup win, she refused to go to the White House, arguing that the administration didn’t stand for the issues important to the team. One of the things Rapinoe is most famous for is suing the National Soccer Federation for equal pay to their men counterparts. Though this is still in progress, the argument is basically that the women's team gets more viewership and wins more, but the men's team is still paid more. As you can see, Rapinoe uses her platform to take a stand against inequality.
Sources:https://playersbio.com/megan-rapinoe/#:~:text=Megan%20spent%20her%20childhood%20and,older%20brother%20Brian%20was%20born.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/29/sports/megan-rapinoe-world-cup.html
https://sites.prh.com/onelife
https://www.teamusa.org/us-soccer/athletes/megan-rapinoe
Image Source:https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.oregonlive.com%2Fsoccer%2F2019%2F05%2Fmegan-rapinoe-criticizes-fifa-calls-for-overhaul-to-boost-womens-soccer.html&psig=AOvVaw1JKeqBR5OzcFrnZym4uYkB&ust=1615309970427000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCMi9tOKYoe8CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD
Rapinoe grew up in Redding, California. She started playing soccer at the early age of 3 and has been playing ever since. Playing on teams coached by her father, she began to develop a love for the game. She played on the under 14 olympic development team during middle school and continued rising in the ranks. She went on to play in the 2004 FIFA women's world championship while learning at the University of Portland in Portland, Oregon. After playing on a few other club teams, Rapinoe joined the Chicago Red Stars, a team in the Women's Professional Soccer League. She later joined MagicJack, another team in the league, and eventually ended up with Seattle Reign, based in Seattle, Washington.
As for her work with activism, Rapinoe takes a stand for issues such as Equal pay, gender equality, racism, and LGBTQ+ rights. When told she wasn’t allowed to play if she kneeled during the national anthem, she instead made the same gesture by standing in silence with her hands off of her heart. In addition, after her World Cup win, she refused to go to the White House, arguing that the administration didn’t stand for the issues important to the team. One of the things Rapinoe is most famous for is suing the National Soccer Federation for equal pay to their men counterparts. Though this is still in progress, the argument is basically that the women's team gets more viewership and wins more, but the men's team is still paid more. As you can see, Rapinoe uses her platform to take a stand against inequality.
Sources:https://playersbio.com/megan-rapinoe/#:~:text=Megan%20spent%20her%20childhood%20and,older%20brother%20Brian%20was%20born.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/29/sports/megan-rapinoe-world-cup.html
https://sites.prh.com/onelife
https://www.teamusa.org/us-soccer/athletes/megan-rapinoe
Image Source:https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.oregonlive.com%2Fsoccer%2F2019%2F05%2Fmegan-rapinoe-criticizes-fifa-calls-for-overhaul-to-boost-womens-soccer.html&psig=AOvVaw1JKeqBR5OzcFrnZym4uYkB&ust=1615309970427000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCMi9tOKYoe8CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD