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“America’s Best Team!”: Former President Barack Obama Lauded USWNT’s Win Amidst Megan Rapinoe’s Decision to Skip White House Ceremony in 2019

Published 09/15/2022, 10:30 AM EDT

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Megan Rapinoe is undoubtedly one of the most heard names in the soccer world. Her interest in the sport grew from a very young age. The athlete never disappointed fans and displayed her best form on and off the field. Apart from sports, Megan is an activist and takes a stand for what is right. Furthermore, she has also been a part of several controversies, one of which is the White House dispute.

Megan Rapinoe and her team won the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Immediately after that, former president Barack Obama congratulated the team with a tweet.

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Obama’s tweet dedicated to Megan Rapinoe and her team

The USWNT bagged the FIFA World Cup four times since 1991. After their World Cup triumph in 2015, then-president Barack Obama invited the team to the White House. He appreciated every member of the USWNT for their hard work and dedication. In the same vein, the team didn’t go there empty-handed. They gifted Obama a customized jersey with his name on the back, accompanied by the number 44 below it; since Barack Obama was the 44 President of the United States.

via Getty

Nevertheless, in 2019, the team didn’t visit the White House but celebrated their victory with fans in New York. Just before the finals, Megan Rapinoe was captured in a video where she mentioned that she won’t be visiting the White House even if they win. The video asked for massive attention and led to another feud with President Donald Trump.

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After their glorious win in 2019, Barack Obama expressed his best wishes to the team via Twitter. He also attached a photo of himself holding a jersey that had the number 19 under his name in bold.

The caption read, “Proud to rep America’s best team! Congrats @USWNT and thanks for being such a strong inspiration for women and girls- and everybody- all across the country.”

To everyone’s surprise, Megan and the team did receive an invitation from Trump to visit the White House. But the athlete didn’t go against her statement and rejected the request.

Trump replies to Megan’s statement

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After Megan’s video got viral all across the internet, Trump decided to come up with a tweet. He asked the athlete to be respectful towards the nation, the White House, and the national flag.

Furthermore, he added, “Be proud of the Flag that you wear. The USA is doing GREAT!

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Watch This Story: Megan Rapinoe once slammed Bubba Wallace haters amidst the infamous noose incident

Megan and Trump were always on the opposite team. Nonetheless, the soccer enthusiast proved a lot with her gameplay and actions.

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Written by:

Rimjhim Dey

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Rimjhim Dey is a US Sports author for EssentiallySports. She is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology and is also a biology aficionado. Interested in it since childhood, Rimjhim believes her passion for writing runs through her veins.
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Edited by:

Simar Singh Wadhwa