Henry Bushnell of Yahoo News was on Off The Ball discussing USA captain Megan Rapinoe and her recent disagreement with Donald Trump.
Rapinoe said, "I'm not going to the ******* White House,” further questioning if her team would even be invited.
Bushnell says that the situation was unsurprising given what Rapinoe stands for, having knelt for the national anthem. He also clearly voiced his support for the athlete saying that “she has always been outspoken, she’s always stood behind what she believes in.”
The Yahoo journalist had interviewed the US soccer captain earlier in the year where she explained why Colin Kaepernick had led to her taking this stance
“One of the things she said is that Kaepernick had opened her eyes. She has said that Kaepernick really was her inspiration.”
Background
Rapinoe’s comes from a more conservative area and background that would have seen the majority voting for Trump, according to Bushnell and her parents would have been a bit shaken by her stance but do support her.
“That’s one of the many things that makes her so interesting.”
The current media frenzy is occurring ahead of a very difficult stage of the World Cup, with a tough game against France coming up in the quarter-finals on Friday.
“She’s not going to be affected by it at all. She is so strong.”
While the comments were made in January, Rapinoe stands by her decision not to go to the White House and urges the rest of her team to follow her lead.
“Many of her teammates would support her on this and I don’t think that they would want to go to this White House specifically. They all went back in 2015 when they won the World Cup.”
“They’re used to her being outspoken. They’re used to having a lot of outside noise. I don’t think they’re bothered by it at all.”
Despite Trump's claims that he just had Criminal Justice Reform passed, that black unemployment is at its lowest point in America and that the poverty index is at its best point ever, Bushnell thinks that Rapinoe and the rest of the team will still view the current White House as the problem.
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