Danielle Sinay
Aug 05, 2021
Megan Rapinoe has done it again! The controversial football star scored not one but two goals in the U.S. women’s football team final match, beating Australia by 4-3 and earning the bronze medal at the TokyoOlympics.
This is a huge accomplishment for the women’s football team, as they got off to quite a rough Olympics start. First, after waiting five years since their heartbreak of losing to Sweden at the 2016 Olympics, they faced a nearly identical fate this year when Sweden once again defeated the team in a 3-0 match. Following this upset, Team Canada beat USA by 1-0 — the first time the U.S. had lost to their northern neighbours since 2001.
This will be a fun goal for a lot of people to wake up to. https://t.co/1mU660QYVI— Meg Linehan (@Meg Linehan) 1628151262
Megan Rapinoe specifically faced immense scrutiny for the losses, as many conservative critics perceived these as the progressive footballer’s personal failures. And now, despite their win, former U.S. President Donald Trump has weighed in, asserting that if the team of “Leftist Manics” weren’t “woke,” they would have won the gold. “Woke means you lose, everything that is woke goes bad,” he continued, seemingly not realising what a major achievement an Olympics medal is in itself.
Ex-POTUS attacks @ussoccer women’s Olympic team and specifically calls out @mPinoe. https://t.co/61PJvt9MRx— Andrew Feinberg (@Andrew Feinberg) 1628171246
Other conservatives have expressed similar theories about being “woke.” “The US Women’s Soccer Team went WOKE and now they lost to Canada. That’s what happens when you put political propaganda before sport and hard work,” Brigitte Gabriel, author and founder of the conservative group “Act for America,” wrote on Twitter.
The US Women’s Soccer Team went WOKE and now they lost to Canada. That’s what happens when you put political propa… https://t.co/mjnIHxwazM— Brigitte Gabriel (@Brigitte Gabriel) 1627901949
Conservative commentators took to Twitter to mock the footballer as well.
They're still the champions at kneeling though, which is the important thing https://t.co/80qGBci66p— Ben Shapiro (@Ben Shapiro) 1627905718
Hundreds of other conservatives echoed the general sentiment, asserting that Megan Rapinoe’s behaviour (read: kneeling) is inherently “anti-American,” and thus, she is not “for Team America.”
I do love it when Megan Rapinoe loses because even though she’s ON Team America, she’s not FOR Team America 🇺🇸 https://t.co/SVBR2JxkqF— Lavern Spicer (@Lavern Spicer) 1627913221
Wow. The women's soccer team really blew it AGAIN. Losing to Canada ? Probably SORE KNEES from all their KNEELING… https://t.co/8fjLtEEiMd— Greg Kelly (Hunter Biden Sux at “art”) (@Greg Kelly (Hunter Biden Sux at “art”)) 1627905516
I support watching Megan Rapinoe lose. They kneeled. They shouldn’t represent America.— Nick Adams (@Nick Adams) 1627902028
But now, of course, the tables have turned, as Rapinoe has successfully earned the United States yet another medal.
8' | And THAT'S why they call it an Olimpico 🔥 @mPinoe scores directly off the corner! 🇺🇸 1-0 🇦🇺 | #Tokyo2020 https://t.co/AiACjdiZo8— U.S. Soccer WNT (@U.S. Soccer WNT) 1628150956
When some Twitter users pointed out that her critics would be “crying” at her success, they shot back insisting that “it’s a meaningless game.”
@_bawbfromonline @USWNT @mPinoe its a meaningless game lmao— WOLFE (@WOLFE) 1628151094
Others claim that an Olympics medal is equivalent to a “participation medal.”
@PlayersTribune @USWNT @mPinoe @CarliLloyd @TeamUSA Lol won a participation medal— JoeViller (@JoeViller) 1628165218
Still, Rapinoe maintains her fair share of supporters from all over the globe.
Gooooooood morning to all the flag-lovin, ‘athletes should stick to sports’ haters who’ve been talking endless shit… https://t.co/vUIszY4Iqr— Katy Walker, PhD 🌮 (@Katy Walker, PhD 🌮) 1628165032
Congratulations to the U.S. women’s football team!
In 2012, @MPinoe became the first to score from a corner at an Olympic Games in the semifinal against Canada. At t… https://t.co/OJNBDqOvlN— NBC Olympics (@NBC Olympics) 1628158275
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