U.S. soccer star and social activist Megan Rapinoe has been named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year.
The enlarged text at the top of the magazine’s story, published Monday, sums it up quite well:
“Playing the world’s game, on the world’s stage, under attack by a world leader, she dominated. And in doing so without fear, Megan Rapinoe became a voice for so many across the world.”
Rapinoe led the U.S. women’s soccer team to a World Cup title in June, the squad’s second in a row and fourth total. She also took home some extra hardware for herself, claiming the Golden Boot (World Cup’s top scorer) and Golden Ball (World Cup’s top player).
That’s all while using her platform to fight U.S. Soccer for equal pay and speak out against racism, sexism, and homophobia.
Rapinoe’s arms-extended pose after scoring in the World Cup final against the Netherlands created a signature sports moment for the year — if not the signature sports moment — inspiring the below video released Monday to congratulate Rapinoe on the honor:
So happy to see @MPinoe win @SInow #Sportsperson of the Year. You stand for something bigger and I stand with you. #VWAmbassador #DriveBigger @vw pic.twitter.com/zkPqWTt1u1
— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) December 9, 2019