Megan Rapinoe Slams Ronaldo And Messi For Silence On Inequality

Football sensation and Ballon d’Or prize winner, Megan Rapinoe took some time off to magnify the roles of male counterparts in shaping equality in our generation. She slammed football stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for being silent on issues related to racism and sexism in modern-day football. Rapinoe, star of the United States Women’s National Team, said, “I want to shout: ‘Cristiano , Lionel , Zlatan , help me!’” She expressed her concern while speaking to Football France after winning the prestigious trophy.

Rapinoe, who had also FIFA Best Women Footballer of the Year award earlier this year, further asked if the footballers are scared that if they speak against the issues they might be on the verge of hurting their careers. “These big stars do not engage in anything when there are so many problems in men’s football. Do they fear losing everything?” she questioned.

She added, “They believe that, but it is not true. Who will erase Messi or Ronaldo from world football history for a statement against racism or sexism?”

Rapinoe became the first United States women’s national team (USWNT) player to win the prestigious Ballon d’Or prize award. After winning the award, the footballer said, “This Ballon d’Or rewards both. On the one hand, I am a good player. On the other, my activity away from the pitch brings me support as people understand I am acting to find solutions to our society’s problems. The idea is to empower others to speak louder.”

LGBTQ representative Rapinoe, 34, succeeds after starring on and off the field as the US retained the World Cup in France in July. The badass footballer has been raising burning questions against racial issues, gender issues, LGBTQ issues, immigration, sexual harassment, and sexual assault.

She further added, “I have no fear, so I say what I say. Traveling all over for conferences and meetings exhausts me, but you have to be on the front line to improve things in our world.”

Key Takeaways:

• Megan Rapinoe, star of the United States Women’s National Team, was awarded the women’s Ballon d’Or prize at an awards ceremony in Paris. After winning the award, the footballer slammed football stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for being silent on issues related to racism and sexism in modern-day football.
• She became the first United States women’s national team (USWNT) player to win the prestigious award, and said, “I want to shout: ‘Cristiano , Lionel , Zlatan , help me!’” She expressed her concern while speaking to Football France after winning the prestigious trophy.
• Rapinoe helped lead the USWNT to its fourth World Cup title last summer in France, scoring six goals and recording as the tournament’s top player.

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The American have had a fabulous year in which she helped the USA win the Women’s World Cup for the second time in her career. She won both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball at the tournament. She is capped as one of the star players plays club football for Reign FC in the US. Rapinoe, who is known for her strong opinions, has led the way in the women’s national team’s lawsuit against U.S. Soccer, accusing the federation of gender discrimination.

Feature Image Credit: The Guardian

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