Megan Rapinoe: 'I'm Not Going To The (Expletive) White House'
PARIS (CBS13) - The United States Women's National Team is into the quarterfinals of the Women's World Cup, facing a match with host country France in Parc de Princes in Paris on Friday afternoon. At the moment, the U.S. team is a 1-1 favorite to hoist the trophy at the end of the tournament, which of course leads to questions about whether the potential champs would accept an invitation to visit White House. Star forward Megan Rapinoe, who has been called out by President Trump for not singing the national anthem, appears adamant that she would not make the trip.
"I'm not going to the f*****g White House. No. I'm not going to the White House," said Rapinoe in an interview with Eight By Eight magazine. "We're not going to be invited."
(WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS NSFW LANGUAGE)
The 33-year-old Rapinoe grew up in Redding. She was one of the first athletes outside of football to join in Colin Kaepernick's protest of racial injustice during the national anthem by taking a knee during the anthem prior to a game with the Seattle Reign back in 2016. She has since stood and respected the decision of the U.S. Soccer Federation that all athletes should stand during the anthem. But, her decision not to sing has been a focus during this World Cup after she told Yahoo! Sports prior to the tournament she likely would never sing the anthem again.
Rapinoe, who is gay and an advocate for LGBTQ rights, said in the interview with Yahoo! prior to the tournament that she feels like a "walking protest" to the President. Rapinoe and her teammates take the field again on Friday against France at 12 p.m. Pacific Time.
Rapinoe also played for the Elk Grove Pride club (now the Sacramento Pride) in the Women's Premier Soccer League before moving onto college.
