“You Parade Us Around”: Megan Rapinoe Gave Her Undaunted Opinion on Mixing Politics With Sports Once

Sports means entertainment. Running through emotions until the end of the clock gives memorable moments to fans to cherish for ages. For some, it is a platform to showcase talent outside of it. They use their brand to perfection and involve in matters that need addressing. Megan Rapinoe is a perfect example. The soccer star is one of the most outspoken athletes in the world today, who speaks about political and social matters. But should athletes mix politics with sport?

This argument comes up with the current active involvement of various stars who open up about injustice. However, there are two flip sides to the coin. Some do not want athletes to mix politics with the sport, while others deem athletes standing up and creating a change for social injustice to be crucial. Rapinoe, meanwhile, uses her platform to perfection. 

Megan Rapinoe: More than an athlete!

Apart from being one of the best women’s soccer players in 2019, she paved the way for the younger generation to be bold and fight against injustice. However, the perception of fans on athletes is a tricky business. In a past interview, the reporter questioned Rapinoe about how sports should stick to a nonpolitical oasis.

“I don’t understand that argument at all. You want us to be role models for your kids,” said Rapinoe, who failed to comprehend the argument made. She continued, “You want us to endorse your products. You parade us around. It’s like, we’re not just here to sit in the glass case for you to look at. That’s not how this is going to go. Yeah, I don’t [expletive] with that concept at all.”

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According to her, attracting thousands of fans across the world, what platform can be better to address social injustice? Rapinoe keeps going and recently achieved a remarkable breakthrough.

Equal pay for women players

Getting paid equally and adequately is what everyone wishes. When one puts heart and soul into a team or an organization, they expect something in return. But for years, even though the USWNT achieved significantly greater success than their male counterparts, they failed to receive higher payments. Rapinoe wanted a change, and she fought for it with several others. 

The USWNT’s $24 million pay discrimination settlement received the green light from a federal judge in Los Angeles. They will pay a sum of $22 million into a class settlement fund while the remaining $2 million gets deposited into an interest-bearing fund account. 

Using her brand value to perfection, Rapinoe caught the eyes and ears of higher authorities with this movement. Keeping politics out of sports might be critical for the millennials, but there are many benefits if the platform is used well. What are your views on the matter? Do you think politics and sports should be mixed?

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