The Spanish women's soccer team made history last Sunday by winning the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand defeating England 1-0. One of the great disappointments of the tournament was the U.S. team, which was eliminated in the second round for the first time in history. The U.S. team lost to Sweden many – even former President Donald Trump – blamed the elimination on Megan Rapinoe, one of the players leading the team.
In an exclusive interview with Franklin Foer, the retiring soccer star Megan Rapinoe discusses her detractors, the U.S. team’s role in the global game, and taking penalty kicks. https://t.co/bsM3ra7OLM pic.twitter.com/Ptl73SU4vW
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) August 22, 2023
Two weeks after being eliminated, Rapinoe was interviewed by The Atlantic. She talked about the American team's performance in the World Cup but she focused more of her soccer talk on the winning team: Spain. She spoke out about the controversy caused by the President of the Federation, Luis Rubiales, who kissed Jenni Hermoso on the lips while celebrating the win.
Rapinoe had a lot to say about Luis Rubiales, whom she accused of misogyny and sexism:
There was another picture that signals such a deep level of misogyny and sexism in that federation and in that man (Rubiales), at the final whistle, just grabbing his crotch. What kind of upside-down world are we in? On the biggest stage, where you should be celebrating, Jenni has to be physically assaulted by this guy.
Rapinoe spent the rest of the interview going into her usual topics of conversation. She talked about wage equality, abortion and she took advantage of the opportunity to criticize Donald Trump.
