Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Megan Rapinoe Retires With Emotional Speech At Her Final U.S. Women's National Team Game

Megan Rapinoe
Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF

The U.S. soccer star thanks the fans and her teammates as she reflected on her career in a farewell speech in Chicago after her final game with a 2-0 win over South Africa.

U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe thanked her fans and her teammates as she reflected on her acclaimed career in a farewell speech in Chicago.

The match against South Africa ended with a 2-0 victory for the U.S., marking a triumphant conclusion to Rapinoe's illustrious career.


Rapinoe expressed her deep gratitude to the supporters, describing it as an "honor to wear this shirt and play out my childhood dream." She acknowledged the team's tremendous efforts and successes both on and off the field, emphasizing their collective struggle for equality and social justice.

You can hear what she said in the video below.

Megan Rapinoe's Farewell Speech | September 24, 2023youtu.be

She said:

“We have fought so hard on the field, had so much fun, been so successful. We fought so hard off the field to continue to create more space for ourselves to be who we are, but hopefully in turn more space for you guys to be who you are.” ...
“It says a lot about us that everything on the field I feel pales in comparison to what we’ve achieved off the field."
"But I think even in the years prior to that, being so vocal about racial justice and gay rights and just feeling like the team really stepped into a new era of itself and took upon itself to be so much more than what we were on the field.”

Rapinoe expressed her gratitude to fans for celebrating her and the team for their outspokenness on such issues as racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and equal pay for women:

“Just the reaction that I got, whether that was people coming up to me and saying how much that meant to them or gave them space to come out, I think I realized right then, as the popularity of the team started to grow, that people came to see us not just for what we were doing on the field, but they came to see themselves in us."
"So how could we use that? How could we use the growing platform to fight for ourselves, but also to fight for other people?” ...
“It’s a really beautiful thing to look out and see little Black girls and little trans kids and boys with our jerseys on. I think that’s something that all of us are really proud of and all of us – especially in our generation – know the impact that we’ve made. And we know that it’s a lot different now than when we started.”

Many praised Rapinoe after footage of her speech went viral.



During her remarkable 17-year career with the team, Rapinoe made 203 appearances and scored 63 goals. Beyond her achievements on the pitch, she emerged as a symbol of the women's team's fight for equal pay and gender equity, as well as a passionate advocate for various social causes.

Last year, the team secured a multimillion-dollar settlement with U.S. Soccer in their equal pay lawsuit, a triumph that Rapinoe considers a more lasting legacy than her on-field performance.

Rapinoe has also made headlines for condemning GOP-led legislatures for attempting to legislate transgender people out of public life and especially school sports.

She has called such bills "monstrous" and stressed that “sports is not the most important thing in life” because “life is the most important thing in life." She suggested that individuals who are “afraid someone’s going to have an unfair advantage over their kid” should “take a step back and get a grip."

More from News

Halle Berry
Fortune Magazine

Halle Berry Warns That Women Are Turning Themselves Into 'Monsters' With Cosmetic Surgery

Academy Award-winning actor Halle Berry pushed back against the stigmatization of women and aging in a powerful interview with Fortune magazine.

The 58-year-old Hollywood bombshell established herself as a leading actor in 2001 when she became the first African-American woman and first woman of color to win the Oscar for her captivating performance as a struggling widow in Monster's Ball.

Keep ReadingShow less
Khalid
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Audacy

Musician Khalid Opens Up About His Sexuality After Being 'Outed' By Ex On Social Media

Singer-songwriter Khalid opened up about his sexuality in a series of candid tweets in response to being "outed" by fellow musician Hugo D Almonte, who implied they'd been in a relationship.

Khalid shared a Pride flag emoji along with the following short and sweet message:

Keep ReadingShow less
Rudy Giuliani
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Courtroom Sketch Artist's Drawings Of Rudy Giuliani Looking Unhinged Are An Instant Classic

Courtroom sketch artist Jane Rosenberg's latest sketches of the disbarred former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani have gone viral after she captured him in remarkable detail lashing out in court.

Giuliani appeared in federal court in Manhattan for a case where he has been ordered to pay nearly $150 million to two Georgia election workers he defamed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Man appearing shocked and regretful while on the phone
Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

People Share Their Biggest 'I F*cked Up' Experiences

We're all human here, so we all make mistakes. Most mistakes can be resolved with a genuine apology, hot glue to fix a broken vase, and a good cleaning solution for a big spill.

Other mistakes, like bullying someone or breaking someone's heart, are much more guilt-inducing and harder for everyone to get over.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ariana Grande; Grande's nonna
Neil Mockford/WireImage/GettyImages, @arianagrande/Instagram

Ariana Grande Watched 'Wicked' With Her Grandma At Her Childhood Movie Theater—And We're Sobbing

Ariana Grande took her 99-year-old grandma, Marjorie Grande—affectionately known as Nonna—to see the film adaptation of Wicked at a very special movie theater last week, a moment the pop idol has waited for since, since birth!

Grande has been obsessed with Wicked ever since her Nonna took her to see the Broadway musical version in 2003 when Grande was ten years old.

Keep ReadingShow less