Megan Rapinoe has reflected on the legacy she’ll leave following her retirement, saying that she and her teammates on the U.S. women’s national team “changed the game” for future generations.
Rapinoe announced over the weekend that she would be retiring after the 2023 NWSL season, bringing a close to a legendary career that has already seen her win two World Cups and one Olympic gold medal, among a host of individual honors.
The 38-year-old has become just as renowned for her advocacy off the pitch as her exploits on it, vehemently fighting for causes she supports including equal pay, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights and more.
Speaking to USA Today’s “Sports Seriously,” Rapinoe reflected on a career that saw her increasingly find her voice off the field amid plenty of success between the lines.
“I’m really proud of how I went about my career both on and off the field,” she said. “For me and for this team, it’s always been the vibe of leaving everything better than where you found it.
“I think undeniably we’ve changed the game. We’ve been a part of these sort of multi-movements that are all happening at the same time that has left the world in a better place.”
In 2016, Rapinoe became the first white professional athlete to kneel for the national anthem, after former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the trend to protest racial injustice.
Several years later, Rapinoe and her USWNT teammates would achieve their long sought-after goal of equal pay when they signed a landmark collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Soccer.
Those were just two of the topics Rapinoe touched on when considering the legacy she and her teammates will leave.
“I think female athletes deserve a lot of credit for what we fought for: There’s Black Lives Matter, police brutality, trans rights in sports, women’s rights in sports, bodily autonomy, gay rights in sports, equal pay, landmark contract negotiations.”
“None of this was given to us,” she added. “We didn’t get the benefit of our potential or what we could do. We had to fight for everything and prove it double every single time. So I think being a part of that landscape and being one of the figures in that landscape is what I’m most proud of.”
After defeating Wales in Sunday’s World Cup send-off game, Rapinoe and her USWNT teammates will kick off the World Cup on July 21 against Vietnam.
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