Strength of character: Megan Rapinoe's legacy as a soccer player and beyond
Rapinoe always served as a voice for underrepresented groups, not afraid of any criticism she garnered as she embraced the pressure to perform on the pitch.
I remember the first time I saw Megan Rapinoe play. Her bleached blonde hair stood out on TV, swaying with her as she darted around the wing at the 2012 Olympics. From the moment the game started, I was immediately drawn to her presence and boundless energy. Now, the discussion of what I remember about Rapinoe, shifts to how she will be remembered as her soccer career ends imminently.
With the aura that surrounds Rapinoe, it is tough to say that this is the end of something; it is rather a beginning of a new chapter in her impressive life. She will not fade from the spotlight, she will just step into a new one. Her time being impactful on the pitch may be over, but her attention will stay on being a force for change in other arenas.
One thing is for certain, Rapinoe was never afraid of the spotlight. The enduring picture of her career is, of course, the pose she struck as she guided the United States women’s national team to World Cup glory in 2019. Her arms outstretched like a marble statue in the Louvre, aka The Purple-Haired Lesbian Goddess, she soaked in the cacophony of coverage surrounding her. The stadiums were packed with fans shouting her name, but back home the president was publicly reprimanding Rapinoe for her stances. She was undeterred.
What’s more, she always had a confidence to share her beliefs, whatever they were, and use her platform to prop up under-represented groups of society. In 2012, before the Olympics she announced that she was gay, in Out Magazine, and has become an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and their rights. And these stances pushed the narrative, and ultimately led to change. She kneeled in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick in 2016, undeterred by the no-kneeling policy in place by U.S. Soccer. Years later, the entire USWNT would kneel in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement. She spearheaded the push for equal pay off the pitch starting in 2016,while delivering a rainbowed-hued masterclass on the pitch to win a World Cup during the ongoing pay negotiations and legal affairs. In 2022, U.S. Soccer agreed to pool the prize money garnered by both the men’s and women’s team — equal pay was achieved. Her hard work off the field was honored as she was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Biden in 2022.
The on-field exploits are equally impressive and transformational. She entered the USWNT in 2006, a team that still was among the world’s best and reigning Olympic gold medalist, but lacked the media coverage and social standing they have today. The attempts to create a professional women’s league were futile and flashes in the pan. Rapinoe, along with many other recognizable names, changing the way women’s soccer, and in turn, the USWNT is viewed in the States and around the world. In the 2011 World Cup semi-final, when the U.S. looked destined for a quarter-final elimination, she delivered a pixel perfect cross to the venerable forehead of Abby Wambach from 45 yards with her weak foot. Not only did Wambach nod the goal home in the 122nd minute, thus pushing the game to penalties, where the U.S. would eventually win, the goal resonated back home and reignited women’s soccer to allow it to hold the position it does today.
Rapinoe was integral to the U.S. as it built off its attention-grabbing run to the World Cup final in 2011. She fought her way to the 2012 Olympic gold medal, scoring two goals in the U.S.’s 4-3 scorcher against Canada. She was a penned in starter in 2015, as the USWNT regained the World Cup for the first time since 1999. But not every step of her career was immune of set backs.
In the build up to the 2016 Olympics, she struggled to come back from a torn ACL, the third of her career. Showcasing her grit, she made the team for the tournament, but lacked her when she stepped on the field. The USWNT stumbled to a quarter-final exit, its worst ever finish at the competition. Her last time wearing the USWNT strip, at the 2023 Cup in Australia/New Zealand, she no longer was a starter, and contending with coming off the bench. It was apparent that what she previous could execute was no longer attainable: her mind saw one thing, but her body could not make it happen. Her last touch of the tournament, and the most magnified, was her missed penalty in the shootout against Sweden, when the U.S. were knocked out in the round of 16.
A firestorm of vitriol detonated on social media, but once again Rapinoe was not fazed by the criticism and hate speech, she was honest and candid in her reflection of the game, comparing her missed penalty to a “sick joke.”
So, after 202 international appearances for the U.S. and 63 goals, the curtain closes on her USWNT career. However, another door opens towards a post-career life. Her last U.S. game is Sunday against South Africa in Chicago. She will play out the remaining club games for OL Reign, based in Seattle, and then go on with her life with the same authenticity and empathy she became known for.
What she will do next remains unclear, but she has hinted that she remain vocal for the positions she believes in, acting as a voice for those who may not be heard otherwise. She already has cultural currency beyond the sports and soccer world, and that perception is sure to grow with her continued presence within society.
But what will she be remembered for? Whatever Rapinoe did, she did it with others in mind. She was a vessel and voice for the under-represented and an inspiration for all Americans. She showed calmness under pressure, unafraid to challenge authority or garner detractors on the way (haters are a confirmation that you are doing something right). She exhibited humility in victory and grace in defeat. Most of all, she embodied a strength of character in her actions that promoted the wellbeing of others—African Americans, the LGBTQ+ community, women rights, the future of women’s soccer in the U.S. and abroad—over herself.