Megan Rapinoe opted not to sing national anthem at her final soccer game

Soccer player and activist Megan Rapinoe capped off her career with the U.S. women’s national soccer team by not singing the national anthem at the game against South Africa on Sunday night.

Her decision not to partake in the national anthem is something she has done in the past, claiming that doing so was to protest racial inequality in the United States. In 2019, she said she would “probably never sing the national anthem again.”

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Rapinoe, who has been criticized by conservatives for her political views, was criticized again over opting out of singing the national anthem during her last game.

The game marked the end of Rapinoe’s 17-year career, with the USWNT winning the game 2-0. Earlier this year, she announced that she would retire from the sport.

“To have this night come and to actually feel it and see it from my teammates and from our staff and certainly from the fans, really, it was very special,” Rapinoe said.

Part of the criticism Rapinoe has faced comes from her support for transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, saying earlier this year that she would “absolutely” welcome such athletes onto the U.S. women’s national team, even if that athlete replaced a biological woman. She also stated that people claiming transgender athletes are replacing biological women athletes are “extremely transphobic.”

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“I see trans women as real women,” Rapinoe said. “What you’re saying automatically in the argument — you’re sort of telling on yourself already — is you don’t believe these people are women. Therefore, they’re taking the other spot. I don’t feel that way.”

The athlete’s stance and support for transgender athletes was criticized by Riley Gaines, a former championship swimmer and women’s sports advocate, who described Rapinoe as a “classic case of virtue signaling.”