Megan Rapinoe attacked the “deep level of misogyny and sexism” in the Spanish football federation after its president, Luis Rubiales, kissed ahead Jenni Hermoso on the lips after her crew’s victory in Sunday’s World Cup last.
“On the biggest stage, where you should be celebrating, Jenni has to be physically assaulted by this guy,” Rapinoe stated in an interview with the Atlantic printed on Tuesday. “There was another picture that signals such a deep level of misogyny and sexism in that federation and in [Rubiales] at the final whistle, just grabbing his crotch. What kind of upside down world are we in?”
Rubiales has since apologised for the kiss however Spain’s appearing prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, known as the incident “unacceptable” and stated the apology didn’t go far sufficient.
Rapinoe’s last World Cup ended in disappointment after the USA had been crushed by Sweden on penalties in the final 16. That led to celebration on social media by Donald Trump, with whom Rapinoe has clashed in the previous. Rapinoe dismissed Trump’s feedback in Tuesday’s interview.
“It’s a compilation of hit words and hot-button words that don’t actually make any sort of sense or square with reality at all,” she stated. “I think, just in general, the way that our team was spoken about over the course of the tournament, it was fake. And it didn’t make sense to me: In 2019, we were ultra-confident, ultra-swaggy – and won everything. And even though we won, we did it in bad taste, according to our critics … it’s just so disingenuous. There’s no way for us to win, and there’s no way for us to lose.”
Rapinoe stated that the response to the US girls’s crew World Cup defeat was symptomatic of a wider drawback in America.
“One thing that America does really well is backlash. I think there’s a huge backlash against women happening right now,” she added. “I think we see that with the overturning of Roe v Wade. We’re seeing that with the trans argument in sports.”
She additionally denied the crew, a lot of whom don’t sing the anthem earlier than video games, had been unpatriotic, a typical criticism from the suitable.
“I’ll miss being able to represent our country,” she stated. “I think, a lot of times, that gets lost, when people talk about me in particular: ‘Oh, you guys don’t sing the anthem, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You don’t love America.’ But we do love America. It’s just more in a James Baldwin kind of way, not in a bald-eagle-on-your-shoulder kind of way.”
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Rapinoe, who is thought for her prowess on set items, missed a penalty in the shootout with Sweden however informed the Atlantic she would step as much as the spot once more if she had the prospect.
The 38-year-old will retire from the US nationwide crew as a two-time World Cup winner and an Olympic champion. She stated that in retirement she is going to miss the environment at World Cups.
“The buzz around it – walking into these stadiums, the feeling that, on any given day, anything can happen,” she stated. “There’s just something that brings out the best in players, in teams. And if you catch that little piece of fire, it’s just special.”
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