Megan Rapinoe has backed incoming U.S. women’s national team coach Emma Hayes to pick up the slack from her and Alex Morgan as the team’s main representative with the media.
Rapinoe took on the mantle as the USWNT’s de facto spokesperson prior to her retirement last year. Along with other stars like Alex Morgan, Rapinoe championed the team’s favored social causes, served as an advocate for the team during its lawsuit against U.S. Soccer, and also acted as a shield for its many critics.
Speaking to Sam Mewis on her podcast on The Women’s Game, Rapinoe said that Hayes could help ease the burden on a new generation of USWNT stars who may not be as keen to be in the media spotlight as their predecessors.
“I think she’s really talented at [dealing with the media],” Rapinoe said of Hayes, who will take over as USWNT head coach in May following the conclusion of Chelsea’s season.
“I don’t think we often think of interactions — whether it’s players or coaches — as an actual talent with the media. I think Emma is very talented. She’s charismatic, she speaks very well. She’s cheeky. She’s going to have a sense of humor in there. It seems like she handles herself really well in England, which is traditionally a very tough media.”
“I think the team has also come off a period that had me and Alex. I think Alex and I are very talented with the media. I really don’t want to toot my own horn here, but that’s sort of a tough act to follow when the media is maybe looking for someone just like that, and that’s not how all players are. And I feel like this might be a time to let the coach take some of the heat for all of this.”
Rapinoe added that she welcomed the increased media scrutiny the USWNT has been dealing with in recent years, saying that has to come with the territory in a growing women’s sports landscape.
“I always say if we are going to say we want the sport to grow, you have to take the smoke,” Rapinoe said. “And I think that Emma’s going to be really good at doing that. And I always say the media is not the enemy. I feel like you can always weaponize media and always use them to your advantage and I think she’s going to be really good at that. And I think it might take a little bit of the pressure off the players, so they can just go do their thing.”
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