Megan Rapinoe: Athlete, Activist

June 11, 2019

The US Women’s National Team kicks off their World Cup run today – ready to defend the title and fresh off of their historic gender equality lawsuit against US Soccer. At the heart of the team is 33-year-old veteran, Megan Rapinoe.

Rapinoe is as much an activist as one of the US team’s finest players, at the forefront of the LGBT rights movement as well as pay equality. When Roger Bennet asked about her outspokenness, she relayed how her mom always asks, “why does it have to be you?”

Rapinoe replied, “I feel comfortable in it, I have this incredible platform, and it’s the right thing to do.” She went on to tell Bennet that if she didn’t do those things, she wouldn’t be the same person, off the field or on it.

There’s something to be said for doing what’s right and bringing the ruckus. Greatness often isn’t isolated to one area, and it’s often not exclusive to mastery. On the field, there’s a whole team around her, a whole staff that supports them, and a crowd of fans across the country. Off the field, there are people working to make progress at every level of the movements she cares about and participates in.

We don’t have to be the face of a movement to play a part in it. We do have to find causes and jobs that are worth taking up and then take action. Otherwise, who would we be? Who could we be?

Rapinoe is a great reminder to get out there and be a part of something. Whatever this World Cup holds, I’ll never forget this pass of hers (and the goal that followed):