Megan Rapinoe reflected on playing for Team USA during Pride Month on a recent episode of her podcast and discussed how having many gay players contributed to their championship win.
“You cannot win championships without the gays,” she said to her wife and co-host Sue Bird during a recent edition of their podcast, A Touch More.
It’s not the first time Rapinoe has drawn a direct line from the gay players of Team USA and their dominance on the pitch. Following the U.S. Women’s National Team’s (USWNT) victory over France during the 2019 Women’s World Cup Quarterfinal, Rapinoe revealed the team’s secret to success to reporters.
“Go gays!” Rapinoe said at the time. “You can’t win a championship without gays on your team – it’s never been done before, ever. That’s science, right there!
“I’m motivated by people who like me, who are fighting for the same things. I take more energy from that than from trying to prove anything wrong. That’s draining on yourself. But for me, to be gay and fabulous, during Pride month at the World Cup, is nice.”
Now that Pride Month is here yet again, Rapinoe was asked to reflect on what playing during that month means for her as a gay player.
“Our team was super gay in 2019,” Rapinoe responded. “A lot of us were out, a lot of our fans were gay, a lot of the other players were gay. First and easiest thing to ensure you have is gay players on our team.”
Team USA’s World Cup dreams were realized in 2019, when the USWNT took down the Netherlands, 2-0. The victory gave the U.S. women their second consecutive Women’s World Cup win. An attempt at a three-peat in 2023 did not materialize. Rapinoe did not explain whether the 2023 team’s downfall was due to not having enough gay players.
