U.S. women’s soccer star and famed national anthem protester Megan Rapinoe used her acceptance speech for the Sports Illustrated “Sportsperson of the Year” award to scold the magazine for their lack of gender and racial diversity.
“As one of just four women to win the Sportsperson of the Year award, she wasted no time in putting SI in the hot seat,” Mediaite reported Tuesday.
“Is it truth that I’m only the fourth woman deserving of this award? I don’t think so,” Rapinoe said while accepting her award.
“Is it true so few writers of color deserve to be featured in this publication? No,” the athlete continued. “Is it true so few women’s voices deserve to be heard and deserve to be read in this publication? I don’t think so.”
The soccer star made waves during the 2019 World Cup when she refused to hold her hand over her heart as a “f*** you” to “sexist,” “racist,” and “small-minded” President Donald Trump.
American football player Megan Rapinoe refuses to sing the national anthem as a & # 39; F You to Trump & # 39; https://t.co/Loj79r5TXZ pic.twitter.com/Yl9J8wvA27
— XpressNews (@xpressnewsasia) June 12, 2019
“So it’s kind of a good ‘F you’ to any sort of inequality or bad sentiments that the [Trump] administration might have towards people who don’t look exactly like him,” Rapinoe told Yahoo! Sports in May. “Which, God help us if we all looked like him. Scary. Really scary. Ahh, disturbing.”
Driving home her anti-Trump stance, which clearly contributed to the athlete winning the coveted Sports Illustrated award, Rapinoe took another shot at the president in the midst of the World Cup. In June, Rapinoe told Eight by Eight that she would not be accepting an invitation to the White House if the national team were to win the championship. “I’m not going to the f***ing White House. No. I’m not going to the White House,” she said. “We’re not gonna be invited. I doubt it.”
Before being bashed by Rapinoe, Sports Illustrated gushed over the U.S. captain in their announcement of the award on Monday.
“Playing the world’s game, on the world’s stage, under attack by a world leader, she dominated. And in doing so without fear, Megan Rapinoe became a voice for so many across the world,” the magazine said.
As previously noted by The Daily Wire, the soccer star’s anthem protest started in the form of kneeling, mimicking former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. However, in response, the United States Soccer Federation amended their bylaws to forbid such action; Rapinoe subsequently adjusted her protest.
After scoring the “Women of the Year” award from Glamour magazine, Rapinoe suggested her white privilege enabled her success post-anthem protest, whereas Kaepernick is being “effectively banned” from the NFL because of his race.
“While I’m enjoying all of this unprecedented, and frankly, a little bit uncomfortable attention and personal success in large part due to my activism off the field, Colin Kaepernick is still effectively banned,” Rapinoe said during the Glamour acceptance speech, The Daily Wire reported.
“It would be a slap in the face to Colin and to so many other faces not to acknowledge, and for me personally to work relentlessly, to dismantle that system that benefits some over the determent of others and frankly is, quite literally, tearing us apart in this country,” the 34-year-old added.
Related: Anthem Protester Megan Rapinoe Named Sports Illustrated ‘Sportsperson Of The Year’