Megan Rapinoe has been outspoken about many political causes and has received both praise and criticism. Once, her former teammate and US WMNT goalkeeper Hope Solo made an acquisition regarding the national anthem protest. She stated that she found Rapinoe’s political views divisive.

Rapinoe has always been very vocal about her political opinions, and Solo criticized Rapinoe for bringing politics into the game. The statement came to light when Solo discussed the ongoing dispute between USWNT and the US Soccer federation.

In her interview with Goal.com, Solo stated, “I think the rhetoric surrounding this team has been both divisive and inclusive. I guess it’s where we are in politics in this day and age, I think the kneeling thing can be very divisive. I’ve seen Megan Rapinoe almost bully players into kneeling because she really wants to stand up for something in her particular way.” Nevertheless, Rapinoe has not responded to Solo’s remarks and no evidence for Solo’s claims has not been known.

The national anthem protest of USWNT

Rapinoe and her teammates opted to kneel during the anthem before games during their matches in 2019-20 in support of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. In 2020, many players were kneeling during the anthem. However, some opted to stay standing.

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Rapinoe, in an interview with Goal.com, had talked about this whole controversy. She suggested that players who don’t want to kneel can continue to educate themselves on the racial and cultural history of the country. Then, she asked them to evaluate themselves as to why they were standing, putting personal beliefs over issues affecting many people. 

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Solo and Rapinoe played together on USWNT during 2006-16. The partnership ended when Solo retired in 2016. However, Hope Solo was not part of the team when Rapinoe kneeled during National Anthem for the first time. In August 2016, Solo was terminated for six months after she called the Swedish national team “a bunch of cowards” during a 2016 Rio Olympics match. Hope resigned in 2016 but is still considered one of the best goalkeepers USWNT ever had.

In February 2021, the team decided to stop taking the knee. They stated they were making moves to make things better behind the scene. For the causes she stood for including the equal pay movement, Rapinoe won the award for the most influential player of 2020-21 by Times magazine.  

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