Megan Rapinoe’s stunned response after being confronted over her controversial opinion on trans athletes competing against women
Megan Rapinoe was confronted by a Seattle Pride reporter and asked to explain her controversial opinion that trans athletes should be able to compete against biological women.
The former American football star, 38, was the ‘Grand Marshall’ of Seattle’s Pride Parade on Sunday. She sat atop an open-top car next to her fiancé, WNBA legend Sue Bird.
Midway through the parade, as the crowd watched from the side of the road, Rapinoe was confronted by a reporter from the postmillennialwho demanded answers about her views on trans athletes in women’s sports.
As you approach Rapinoe’s car, you can hear the reporter say, “Your U.S. women’s soccer team famously lost to high school boys… do you really think it’s fair for the same boys to compete in girls’ sports?”
Midway through the question, we see Rapinoe smiling at the reporter, before turning to her fiancé and muttering under her breath, “Oh my God.”
Megan Rapinoe is left stunned after being asked about her controversial views on trans athletes
She was comforted by her wife, WNBA legend Sue Bird, after being confronted by a reporter
She then leans over to pick up her drink before Bird, a Seattle Storm basketball legend, puts her arm around Rapinoe’s shoulder to comfort her.
The reporter – Katie Daviscourt – is not satisfied with the answer and continues to investigate, while a security guard plants himself between her and Rapinoe’s car.
Despite being blocked, Daviscourt continues: ‘Do you think it’s fair? Why should transgender people have to compete with young girls? Do you think they’ll get hurt?’
Rapinoe then drives away in her car to continue the parade. The photo shows her cheering on the crowd and leaving the reporter behind her.
Fans on social media immediately responded to Rapinoe, with one calling her “gross,” while another added, “It’s important to educate the public about what kind of person Megan Rapinoe is.”
Elsewhere, another X user wrote: ‘This answer speaks volumes.’
Rapinoe is now retired, but as a footballer he was once beaten by a team of 15-year-old boys
A security guard blocks a reporter who tries to question Rapinoe about her controversial views
The soccer match the reporter is referring to took place in 2017, when Rapinoe was captain of the U.S. women’s national team against a group of under-15 boys in Dallas.
The match was intended as preparation for an international match between the US and Russia, but ended in an embarrassing match: the children won 5-2.
In the years since, USWNT players have confirmed that the game took place, with Carli Lloyd admitting: ‘Yes, it’s true… they were good!’
On numerous occasions, Rapinoe has spoken out in favor of trans athletes competing in sports — particularly on her home turf — and has drawn criticism for the controversial opinion.
She was recently called “disgraceful” by Piers Morgan for her involvement in a letter to the NCAA calling on the organization not to ban trans athletes from women’s sports.
Rapinoe, his wife Sue Bird and a host of other stars, including WNBA players Brianna Turner and Layshia Clarendon, co-signed the letter, which states that the biggest problems in women’s sports are “unequal pay, widespread sexual abuse and harassment of female and male athletes, and a lack of equal resources for men’s and women’s teams.”
Rapinoe takes a knee before a 2022 U.S. women’s national team match
Piers Morgan recently led a response to Rapinoe, calling her “embarrassing” for signing a letter
The letter adds: “By banning transgender athletes, you would severely limit the ability of your member institutions to protect and support their athletes. Furthermore, you would actively disparage transgender athletes – the same athletes you chose to protect when you agreed to serve on the Board of Governors.”
Morgan led the response in April, responding to news of the letter about
In July last year – before she retired from football – she said she would welcome a transgender player to the national team.
“Absolutely,” she told Time. “You’re taking the place of a ‘real’ woman, which is the part of the argument that is still extremely transphobic. I see trans women as real women. What you automatically say in the discussion – you already say it a bit about yourself – is that you don’t believe these people are women. That’s why they take the other spot. I don’t have that feeling.’
Rapinoe poses for a photo with fiancé Bird at a premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this month
She has also angered former US President Donald Trump with her past comments
Rapinoe is an outspoken advocate for LBGTQ+ and helped U.S. women’s players negotiate a new labor agreement with the USSF that effectively pays female athletes the same as their male counterparts.
“We as a country are trying to legislate away the full humanity of people,” she said.
She specifically targeted those who claim to protect women’s sports.
“It’s especially frustrating when women’s sports are used as a weapon,” she continued. “Oh, now we care about fairness? Now we care about women’s sports? That’s total bullshit. And show me all these transgender people who are being shamefully abused as transgender in sports. That just doesn’t happen.”