Everything that happened when gold medalist Megan Rapinoe came to Cornell

She said soccer has room to grow in terms of equality

A cheering crowd of Cornellians and local Ithacans welcomed Olympic Gold Medalist and FIFA World Cup Gold Medalist Megan Rapinoe to Newman Arena last week.

Athlete Ally and Cornell Athletics hosted Megan to discuss LGBTQ inclusion and gender equality as a player for the United States Women’s National Soccer Team. Cornell Women’s Hockey player, Morgan McKim served as the host for the night.

Megan pictured with host Morgan McKim. Photo Credit: Dana Daniels

The questions started out light and humorous. We learned the number one thing on Megan’s bucket list is backpacking around Southeast Asia (not so much the backpacking part though), she’s claustrophobic, prefers dancing over singing and is a huge fan of Queen B. We were also able to get insight about what it was like to win the World Cup, as well as key insight about what it’s like to be a gay athlete.

She said when she was younger, she didn’t realize she was gay. She simply chalked it up to being awkward and into sports, then when she had her first crush in college it was the “ah ha” moment. She even said that some people knew even before she did. When she came out in 2012, she didn’t have a lot of homophobia or backlash directed at her, but she acknowledged that many people do.  For her personally, her normal life hasn’t been affected in any way being a female athlete who is gay, and she called being out an “incredibly rewarding experience.”

Megan feels very comfortable being labeled as gay. She said it sits well with her and she is very open about who she is and is proud to be a gay athlete. However, she understands it doesn’t sit well with some people. We live in a very heterosexual society and in a lot of cases, many women don’t want to be pigeon-holed into “one box.” Megan’s encourages those struggling with their sexual identity to go out and seek support and resources. According to her, love defined in one sentence is “compassion and respect.”

Photo Credit: Dana Daniels

She believes Women’s Soccer will continue to grow. Since she first joined the Women’s National Team, the fan base in the United States alone has grown tremendously. The fact that sponsors are paying top dollar for some of the players on the team is something that has only happened in recent years.

But despite growing in terms of popularity, she says the soccer industry has room to grow in terms of equality. Women and men still have very different salary ranges, stay in different places when they travel and play on different surfaces.

As for her advice to the ally community, she urges everyone to think and have empathy. You don’t have to know everything that someone is going through, but you can still stand up in a way that is powerful. You also don’t have to be gay to stand up for the gay community. Even being aware and not letting little comments or stereotypes slide by makes an impact. Athlete Ally creates a safer place for everyone, and having a more respectful and inclusive environment breeds individuality.

Megan pictured with some of the players from Cornell Women’s Soccer. Photo credit: Dana Daniels

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