Megan Rapinoe rips US Soccer for ‘blatant misogyny and sexism’ after teammates stage anthem protest

Fox News ^ | March 11 2020 | Dom Calicchio

[knighthawk]

The fight between the U.S. women’s national soccer team and U.S. Soccer – the federation that oversees the women’s team and their male counterparts – got uglier Wednesday night.

It included strong words from a star player after the team hid their U.S. Soccer uniform logos during a national anthem protest prior to a 3-1 win over Japan in the final of the SheBelieves Cup in Frisco, Texas.

Megan Rapinoe, who led last year’s U.S. triumph in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, tore into U.S. Soccer and boss Carlos Cordeiro after the game, just hours after Cordeiro apologized for a federation court filing as the organization defended itself against a $66 million discrimination lawsuit filed by the women players.

[sphinx]

I think the USWNT was a lightning rod long before the lawsuit. I haven't tracked the details very closely, but there is a lot of blood in the water, and there has been for years. The USWNT players contract expired sometime after the 2011/12 World Cup/Olympic cycle. For various reasons, the talks logjammed. If I recall correctly, the women played for three or four years, including the 2015 World Cup, without a contract. On a parallel track, the old women's league folded for financial reasons. The top level of women's soccer in the U.S. briefly went pro-am (the W league) while the current NWSL was organized. U.S. Soccer was a key player in making that happen. The USWNT player contract is thoroughly entangled with U.S. Soccer support for the NWSL, so it gets complicated really fast.

The USWNT is now U.S. Soccer's premier product domestically and is the top women's program internationally, while the men's team limps along as an also-ran in a much bigger and richer international pond. The leadership people also need to keep an eye on international developments. The European men's teams are starting to partner with their women's teams. There is so much money in European soccer that the big European teams could take over the women's game with chump change. In addition, Olympic Lyonnais, which has both a men's and women's team in Lyon, has just bought a majority stake in the Seattle Reign in the NWSL. One of the reasons for the success of the USWNT is that the U.S. has had the strongest women's domestic league in the world. The European men's clubs could change everyone's calculations in a hurry.

[SaveFerris]

[They have desperately tried to make women’s soccer “a thing” in the US, to no avail]

yep

Were it not for this lesbian, the Leftists (even themselves) would probably not be interested. She’s probably more of a talking point and a fake icon, rather than being watched with much dedication.

[SaveFerris]

[as I have skeet surfing competitions]

If everybody had a 12-gauge
and a surfboard, too
they’d all be skeet-surfin’
like down in Malibu...

[Svartalfiar]

[in the final of the SheBelieves Cup in Frisco, Texas]

Oh darn, did I miss that again?

I was watching something much more entertaining

Ha. I live about 30-45min from Frisco, and this is the first I've heard of this!

[SaveFerris]

;)

[Svartalfiar]

The Federation recently filed a set of legal documents in the case. One of the arguments they make in their defense is that the men are more skilled than the women.

THAT is what precipitated this most recent protest. LMAO. These women are going bat-sh!t crazy because they can’t face the truth.

The women's team knows that. They often scrimmage against men's high school teams. And I'm sure they aren't going full-bore, but they still don't always come out on top...

[Svartalfiar]

U.S. Soccer is the employer of both the men's and the women's national team players. The women win world championships. The men lose to Caribbean microstates.

Really, no one cares about that. Which team is drawing more fans into the stadium? Which team is making more $$ for the league from sponsorships and related branding?

It doesn't matter if the women win every game they play for a decade - if they don't make the money to fund the league, then they end up going away.

[Reily]

Go to high schools & colleges, women’s sports are about as well attended as men’s wrestling!

[Alberta's Child]

I think you're overstating the importance of on-field success in the business of sports. This is especially true in sports that rely heavily on TV and corporate endorsement deals for revenue.

Ice hockey is a good example of how different the men's and women's games operate. U.S. men's hockey is far better in international play -- comparatively speaking -- than U.S. men's soccer. But it's still just one of at least a half-dozen top international teams and hasn't won an Olympic gold medal since 1980. The women's team is much better in international play, contending for titles regularly and winning medals (including two golds) in all six of the Olympic tournaments where the women competed. And yet women's hockey is barely even a professional sport.

For better or for worse, most women's sports simply don't attract the interest of many sports fans.

[jimmygrace]

yawn... desperately trying to get another 15 minutes...

[nascarnation]

Can we deport her to Puerto Rico with AOC?

[kearnyirish2]

Probably, but nowadays we’re supposed to pretend all things female are amazing (and better than any male counterpart).

This team lost a scrimmage to a high school boys team; it isn’t quality soccer. For that matter, men’s soccer in the US isn’t, either.