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Former U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe questioned the motives behind effort to protect women’s sports from transgender inclusion in the latest episode of her podcast with Basketball Hall of Famer Sue Bird.
Rapinoe reacted to an op-ed written by Angel City FC player Elizabeth Eddy, who called on the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) to adopt clear gender standards with different means of testing. Eddy earned backlash and support on both sides of the issue over her column.
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Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe look on in the first quarter between the United States and France in the men’s basketball gold medal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena on Aug. 10, 2024. (Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports)
Rapinoe, who won World Cups and Olympic gold with the United States national team, took issue with the New York Post using a photo of Orlando Pride player Barbra Banda in the op-ed, even as Banda was forced to withdraw from the Zambian national squad after failing to meet sex eligibility requirements in 2022.
She then raised her issue with the “Save Women’s Sports” movement on the “A Touch More” podcast.
“Are we really protecting women in sports or are we doing this just thinly veiled, ‘Oh my god, we’re scared and we have to protect women in sports?’” Rapinoe said in a mocking tone. “And it’s like, we’re fine. We don’t even have any trans players in the NWSL That was really, I felt, was pretty disingenuous.”
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Then-OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe (15) and midfielder Jessica Fishlock (10) march on to the pitch before a match against the North Carolina Courage at Lumen Field on Oct. 1, 2023. (Stephen Brashear/USA TODAY Sports)
Rapinoe turned her attention to Landon Donovan and the former U.S. men’s soccer star’s new hairpiece. Donovan opened up about his new hair in The Athletic in October.
Rapinoe compared the plight of gay and transgender people to that of Donovan, who wanted to rid himself of being the target of jokes in public and social media.
“I just was totally struck by the familiarity of the story and the similarity to, as a gay person, our own pursuit of gay rights and of being our full selves, specifically of trans people, in this moment in general,” Rapinoe said. “And like, it f—ing matters how you feel when you look in the mirror. It matters how your feel inside your own body. It doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks.
Former Seattle Reign midfielder Megan Rapinoe (15) acknowledges fans during a jersey retirement ceremony before a match between the North Carolina Courage and the Seattle Reign at Lumen Field on Aug. 25, 2024. (Stephen Brashear/USA TODAY Sports)
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“I think so often when we talk about gay rights, and specifically trans rights, we’re like trying to express at a basic level of how vital and how important it is for everyone to be able to exist in their own skin and in their own bodies in the way that they want and the way that feels comfortable. It doesn’t have to do with anybody else. And it really can be life changing, it can be life saving in so many ways. And I just think it’s really important,” she added.
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