Rapinoe has been a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, wage equity, and LGBTQ rights. The Presidential Medal of Freedom was just presented to her.
Listen To The Initial Interview
DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. I’m David Bianculli, in for Terry Gross. Today, we’re listening to our interviews with two new recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor. We just heard from one of them, Denzel Washington. Next, we hear from Megan Rapinoe, an icon as a champion soccer player and as an activist. She’s been co-captain of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team since 2018. Rapinoe also helped her team win a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics. And she captains the team OL Reign in the National Women’s Soccer League.
For a while, she was practically the only openly gay player on the U.S. Women’s National Team, which put her in the spotlight as an LGBTQ activist. She’s fought for equal pay in women’s soccer and was part of a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. In February, a settlement was reached between U.S. Soccer and the women players for equal pay. In 2016, a week after Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem, Rapinoe took a knee in support and faced the consequences. Terry Gross spoke to Megan Rapinoe in 2020 about her memoir, which was titled “One Life.” That same year, she had recently announced her engagement to Sue Bird, a champion player in the WNBA.
