Megan Rapinoe bid farewell to Seattle before her final OL Reign home game as fans honored her with pink hair, while the team’s head coach and stars like Billie Jean King, Magic Johnson and Ken Griffey Jr. paid tribute to the All-American hero. .
A National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) record crowd of more than 33,000 fans showed up for Friday night’s game at Lumen Field, with the Reign hosting the Washington Spirit in their penultimate regular game of the season. Rapinoe and Co. will then travel to Chicago to face the Red Stars at SeatGeek Stadium on October 15.
OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey included Rapinoe in her team’s starting XI, with the 38-year-old named on the left wing, where she scored two goals and registered 5 assists in 14 matches played this season. The Reign are the No. 6 seed in the NWSL – the latest playoff birth – and just one point behind the Spirit – the No. 5 seeded team. They could be in serious danger of missing the playoffs if they lose to both, or either, Washington and Chicago.
Rapinoe is hoping to win her final home game with her club after her stint with the U.S. women’s national team ended abruptly in August. The forward was one of three U.S. players to miss a penalty kick in a Round of 16 loss to Sweden, the team’s worst finish in this tournament in history.
‘Hey Megan! It’s Billie Jean (King),” the 12-time Grand Slam winner said in a video tribute to Rapinoe released before kickoff Friday. “You are a legend and a leader! And we look forward to the next part of your trip.
Megan Rapinoe was honored before her final home game for the OL Reign in Seattle on Friday
Fans honored Rapinoe by wearing pink wigs and setting an NWSL attendance record (33,000)
Rapinoe warms up before her final regular season home game against the Washington Spirit
“Pinoe, what can I say…you did everything!” said Abby Wambach – the all-time leading scorer in the history of the United States women’s national team. “You participated in the biggest games, in the biggest moments. You won the biggest championships multiple times. You won every individual award possible and, to top it all off, you and the team were able to achieve equal pay .
Rapinoe has been involved in the women’s team’s equal pay complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission since at least 2016. In March 2019, she and 27 of her U.S. women’s soccer teammates were filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation, accusing it of gender discrimination. , in the hope of achieving equal pay.
In May of the following year, a judge threw out key parts of the lawsuit, including the claim about lower pay than the U.S. men’s team, but allowed other claims to go to trial.
Rapinoe has long advocated for the inclusion of transgender women in women’s sports and has characterized the issue as part of a broader effort to “legislate the elimination of people’s full humanity.”
British-American broadcaster Roger Bennett – host of NBC’s Men in Blazers – praised Rapinoe’s “courage”, adding that she was “not afraid” and “made no apologies”.
A football player who transcended our football bubble,” Bennett added, while three-time Olympic gold medalist and skier Mikaela Sheffrin, first gentleman Doug Enhoff and former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. also joined. joined in celebrating the career of the two-time World Cup winner.
Commanders minority owner and Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, former All-American women’s soccer teammate Ali Krieger, and Rapinoe’s siblings Rachael and Austin and parents Jim and Denise , also paid tribute to the 2012 London Olympic gold medalist.
Fans honored Rapinoe at Lumen Field on Friday by unfurling huge banners in the stands
Rapinoe (left) receives a kiss from her twin sister Rachael (right) during her final regular season NWSL home game
Rapinoe’s mother, Denise (center), and her partner, Sue Bird (right), applaud fans before Friday’s match
Harvey, a native of Nuneaton, England, broke down in tears while sitting next to Rapinoe during a pre-match press conference ahead of the star’s final home game of the regular season, going even going so far as to say that the former American captain had helped her reveal to her friends and family that she is romantically interested in women from the past.
Rapinoe has been engaged to WNBA legend Sue Bird since 2020. She came out publicly in July 2012, after previously saying she knew she was a lesbian her freshman year at the University of Portland.
“I think I’ve said that a lot and you know even being…I was a young coach when I came out (at) 32 and I never really lived authentically,” Harvey told the journalists. “And I think, you know, being with someone like (Megan)…she gives you the platform to think that you can be anything you want to be.”
The Reign offered a prize to celebrate Rapinoe’s retirement before she took the court on Friday.
His career was commemorated with a “Forever Reign, Forever Rapinoe” flag raised at Lumen Field by the founder of the Seattle-based rock band Pearl Jam, Mike McCready.
Rapinoe threw out the ceremonial first pitch before a Mariners-Astros MLB game in Seattle on September 27 at T-Mobile Park.
In an interview with CBS Before her final home game with the Reign, Rapinoe, who appeared in an Astros-Mariners game last month, was asked if she thought her legacy had left “the game in a better place” than when it started.
“Come on,” the Redding, Calif., native said, before throwing her hands in the air in confirmation. ‘Of course. It’s not just me and I say it with a bit of arrogance but only because I speak on behalf of all players of my generation.
I think this generation of gamers changed gaming forever and it’s up to this next generation to take this platform they’re currently on and take it to places we never even thought possible .
“Move the ball forward.”
Rapinoe is a Women’s Ballon d’Or winner and was named FIFA’s Best Women’s Player in 2019 in addition to her two World Cup titles and her 2012 Olympic gold medal. She also played for the United States at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, where the team finished in second place.
Rapinoe co-captained the national team alongside Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan from 2018 to 2020. She previously played for the Red Stars, Philadelphia Independence and MagicJack in women’s professional soccer (WPS), as well as Olympic Lyon in the French women’s first division. soccer.
Rapinoe was included in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020 list. In July last year, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Joe Biden.
Megan Rapinoe bids farewell to Seattle during OL Reign’s final home game as fans honor her with pink hair, tearful coach thanks and stars Billie Jean King, Magic Johnson and Ken Griffey Jr. pay back tribute to the “American hero”.
