What would it be like to get to play a sport you love for a living? According to former United States Women’s National Team soccer player and outspoken leftist Megan Rapinoe, playing soccer for the USWNT was the “worst job in the world,” mainly because it left her open to criticism.
That comment came in the Netflix documentary “Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team.” In it, Rapinoe, who recently retired from soccer, said that the frequent criticisms she faced while playing for the USWNT was an added pressure on top of the normal pressure of the job that made the work so supposedly terrible.
Speaking about the job and why the pressures of it make it “the worst job in the world,” Rapinoe said, the Washington Examiner reports, “I always say it’s the worst job in the world, because if you do your job, then you were supposed to, and if you do one hair less, then you are gonna get lambasted for it.”
Rapinoe also spoke about the final World Cup in which she played, saying, “I think it’s just such a different feeling knowing that this is going to be my last World Cup, being kind of an old head and having a different role on the team. It means a lot to me in a lot of different ways than the other ones did. Yeah, this one’s very special.”
During that time working the “worst job in the world,” Parade estimates that Rapinoe managed to make millions of dollars, both from her salary on the team and from sponsorship deals from brands including Nike, Visa, Victoria’s Secret, Procter & Gamble, BodyArmor, Hulu and LUNA Bar.
Speaking to Parade, Rapinoe defended her constant activism, saying, “When I’m talking about LGBTQ rights, when I’m taking a knee in support of Colin Kaepernick, when I’m talking about police brutality or pay equity, it’s all the same exact thing to me.” Continuing, she added, “It’s just trying to make the world a better place and shedding light on issues. It’s about having everybody’s voice heard and setting up society to benefit everyone.”
Rapinoe then went on to say, “Part of it is just who I am, I am gay so there’s that aspect, and I am a female athlete. So there is a lot of activism potential in there. I feel like female athletes are always on the forefront of anything activism because the intersectionality of us all just runs so deep—we’re women of color, gay, we’re women.”
Most recently, Rapinoe infuriated many Christians by saying that her game time injury during her final game was “proof” God doesn’t exist, saying, “I’m not a religious person or anything and if there was a God, this is proof that there isn’t. This is f***ed up. For sure, I tore my Achilles.”
https://fb.watch/p6Ej6twJtA/
