United States Women’s National Team superstar Megan Rapinoe has never been shy about expressing her opinions and criticisms of the United States, even going as far as to kneel in protest during the national anthem back in 2016. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love her country.
In a recent interview with The Atlantic, Megan Rapinoe was asked what she’ll miss the most now that she is officially retired from the sport. And she said that one of the biggest things she’ll miss is the opportunity to represent her country, making it very clear that she does indeed love America – just maybe not in the same way many conservatives want her to.
“I’ll miss being able to represent our country. 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,” Rapinoe told The Atlantic.
It’s a pretty clear message from Rapinoe, and it led to lots of reactions on social media.
Lmao this rocks https://t.co/Ttmj0fgf27
— the professionalism respecter (@goodfriendraf) August 22, 2023
Killer pull quote. https://t.co/K129JpWv2W
— Monica Marks (@MonicaLMarks) August 24, 2023
Talk to'em, Pinoe. https://t.co/D1uYgYUpYK
— Victor Mosley (@Rahson1919) August 22, 2023
Megan Rapinoe doesn’t do dud interviews https://t.co/FF1wdxU9io
— Ali Donnelly (@AliDonnelly) August 23, 2023
“We do love America,” says @mPinoe . “It’s just more in a James Baldwin kind of way, not in a bald-eagle-on-your-shoulder kind of way.”
This is such a great quote 🤩🤩🤩 https://t.co/J0LVBNrhq7
— Paddy O'Dea (@PatrickODea1) August 22, 2023
In a free speech that “free speech absolutists” oppose for some fairly obvious reasons kind of way. https://t.co/pdLzEnXQZU
— Andy Barr (@AndyBarr34) August 22, 2023
It doesn’t get much clearer than that. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely to truly silence her critics.
