Top 84 Quotes & Sayings by Megan Rapinoe
Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American athlete Megan Rapinoe.
Last updated on December 25, 2024.
Being a woman, we talk about equal pay all the time. We're not talking about if you're black or if you are Latina. I would like to get back to that and improving the relationship between the police community and the community of color. I don't know exactly all the right things to say, but I want to engage in that conversation.
I think the national team is more like a traveling circus. It's hard to get that translation into the NWSL teams.
I don't think there's any perfect way to protest.
I can understand if you think that I'm disrespecting the flag by kneeling, but it is because of my utmost respect for the flag and the promise it represents that I have chosen to demonstrate in this way.
With the national team, we have these fans, people love of us, people come up to us in our cities, and they're like, 'We love you - what are you doing in Seattle?' And I'm like, 'I live here, and I've played here for the last five years.'
I feel like it's actually everybody's responsibility to use whatever platform they have to do good in the world, basically, and to try to make our society better, whether you're an accountant or an activist or an athlete or whatever it is. I think it's everybody's responsibility.
To say I am not mentally tired in ways and exhausted in ways would be a lie.
I feel in my heart it is right to continue to kneel during the national anthem, and I will do whatever I can to be part of the solution.
I think that a lot of these cops have been put in very difficult situations and tasked with very difficult jobs with very little training and very little help.
Just emotionally, as amazing as it is to win the World Cup, it's emotionally draining in many ways.
The kneeling and everything, I think it really only sort of solidifies who I am as a person and the things that I stand for.
I think it's very difficult, and people don't give enough credit to how hard it is to do in-game commentary. I'd have a lot of work to do, but I'd definitely be interested. I'm always interested in breaking down the game, and I'd love to see more females doing it.
Sometimes when you date people, you end up breaking up, and if teammates are mature enough to deal with that, then it's okay. I never want to bring any undue drama to the team.
Everyone who has a pair of eyes in this country understands the racial tensions and the issues we have are very serious and they're not going away. Just because we had Barack Obama as our president and, on paper, everything looks equal, it's very clearly not.
Obviously to be on this team, to be able to represent my country and have the platform that I do, I'm incredibly grateful for it.
We didn't lose a game at home for two years. What are we missing? We have the product on the field. We're exciting.
The climate is much different for men. That stigma is only going to be broken when people come out and see that there is a positive response. That doesn't mean there will be no negative response, but if people can have the courage to be one of the first, which is very hard, those barriers can be broken down very quickly.
I think, bottom line, I have to be good enough to make the team. I have to bring something in and beat somebody else out, especially with a smaller roster for the Olympics.
Homophobia in male sports is much stronger than in women's sports; the locker room environment is a lot different. It's going to be much more of a brave step, an earthshaking move, for a gay male athlete to come out.
Be honest about how you approach failure. Don't just be critical of yourself, because that can be self-serving. Approach it honestly, assess your performance, and assess the areas where you have fallen short. Correct them and move on. Don't dwell on it. Don't hold on to it.
We need to have a more thoughtful, two-sided conversation about racial issues in this country.
It's frustrating sometimes: as an athlete, you're thrust into the spotlight, and you know, I think this team has always done a really amazing job of understanding that we have this incredible platform; let's do something good with it.
In female sports, if you're gay, most likely your team knows it pretty quickly. It's very open and widely supported. For males, it's not that way at all. It's sad.
Honestly, I feel like we are a walking protest. The fact that we're women professional athletes says that in and of itself. We've been feeling the inequality; we've been struggling with pay equality or whatever it is, or sexism in sports.
I have chosen to kneel because I simply cannot stand for the kind of oppression this country is allowing against its own people.
I was made exactly the way I was meant to be made in who I am and my personality and the way I was born.
I think, in a large way, it's, 'OK, you've knelt; you've made your point.' But I don't necessarily feel like that. I don't know what that looks like. Do I kneel forever? I don't know, probably not. But I think until I can feel like I'm being more effective in other ways, then this seems appropriate to me.
You have someone like Colin or many of the other athletes who have knelt, especially athletes of colour, and if you're not respecting what they're saying, if you're not believing their charges of police brutality or racial inequality, you're saying that they're lying.
It seems like I'm thinking 400 hours a day; that's kind of how it feels.
Being female and an advocate for equal opportunities, I want to see an equal representation in people applying for the head coach job for the women's team.
I take playing for my country very seriously. It's a huge honor.
I need to feel like I have that freedom to make mistakes and to just try things.
It's really obvious that we have very serious inequality in this country across many different spectrums. Yes, we can talk about the form of protest or the way it's done or this or that. But it's still not really the conversation that I think we desperately need to have more of in this country.
Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties.
The one-v-ones and stuff, that's a special skill in and of itself. That's the sizzle. Fans love that.
I'm a pretty open book, so not being out publicly felt inauthentic. Hopefully we can get to a point where your personal life isn't anybody else's business, but until then, it's less about people having to know about your sexuality than standing up for what's right and fighting for equality.
I think I have unique qualities that other people don't have that can contribute to the team.
Our team, in general, is in a position where people look up to us, and kids look up to us. I embrace that, and I think I have a huge LGBT following. I think it's pretty cool, the opportunity that I have, especially in sports. There's really not that many out athletes. It's important to be out and to live my life that way.
I think people now - you know, a lot of athletes have come out and said, I would definitely accept, you know, a gay male athlete in the locker room and on my team.
For the record, I am gay.
If we want to be proud to be from a country like America and all the things that we hang our hats on, like diversity, equality, land of the free and home of the brave, it's everybody's responsibility to ensure that everyone in the country is being afforded the same rights.
Some guy in Germany has my face tattooed on the back of his calf. That was wild. It was a decent tattoo job, but that's kind of weird for me.
One of the U.S. Soccer Federation's points is that it's an honour and a privilege to to play for this country, and it is. But we also represent the entire country, and the idea of liberty and justice isn't afforded to everyone.
When I take a knee, I am facing the flag with my full body, staring straight into the heart of our country's ultimate symbol of freedom - because I believe it is my responsibility, just as it is yours, to ensure that freedom is afforded to everyone in this country.
I think more people are engaged in the issues I want to talk about.
Putting yourself out there is hard, but it's so worth it. I don't think anyone who has ever spoken out, or stood up or had a brave moment, has regretted it. It's empowering and confidence-building and inspiring. Not only to other people, but to yourself.
As I got more into gay rights, I got more into equal pay, and you just see that it's all connected. You can't really speak out on one thing and not another without it not being the full picture.
The more I've been able to learn about gay rights and equal pay and gender equity and racial inequality, the more that it all intersects. You can't really pick it apart. It's all intertwined.
Maybe you are homophobic a little bit, but then you see me, and you've always loved me, and you love the way I play, and your kids love me. And then you're like, 'Oh, that's OK. It's fine.' Once it gets a little bit more personal, it helps break down those barriers.
I'm totally obsessed with Tilda Swinton. She has this strange, beautiful sexiness about her. I love everything she does. And I love her hair. It was a little bit of an inspiration for mine.
There are plenty of sports teams that say they're very open and super accepting in the locker room. But are they really? Is it really a safe environment? Have they preset that environment to make these players feel comfortable for coming out? I don't think so because there's none out.
My mom, whether it's right or wrong, she had dreams for me to have a certain life. It takes time to get used to that. But they've been really supportive, and they love me for exactly who I am.
We need a more substantive conversation around race relations and the way people of color are treated.
I've always been a risk taker. Growing up, I had a lot of freedom and room to roam and do what I wanted, and I think that's a huge part of my game.
I just think gay men are looked at much less favorably than gay women. If you look at the overall stereotype, lesbians are sexy, and gay men are disgusting. Girl and girl is fine, and guy and guy seems to just be something completely different.
We're gracious and we're humble, and we play the game a certain way, whether we win or lose.
It's often hard to just throw money at a problem when you don't really know what the problem is.
Even before I came out, looking at me, I've probably looked a little gay. I had short hair, and, you know, it wasn't a huge surprise to people. But some athletes have this image to uphold and may feel like sponsors won't want them if they're gay.
I've gotten a lot more disciplined since dating Sue.
I think we need to keep our faces out there and to keep our game out there and keep it growing.
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