[ While female athletes have enjoyed great gains, inequalities do
persist. Here Megan Rapinoe discusses how Title IX can be improved,
the leadership lessons that came out of the equal pay fight, and the
importance of transgender inclusion in sports.]
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MEGAN RAPINOE DISCUSSES HISTORIC EQUAL PAY AGREEMENT, TITLE IX
ANNIVERSARY AND TRANSGENDER SPORTS BANS  
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Sean Gregory
June 19, 2022
Time
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_ While female athletes have enjoyed great gains, inequalities do
persist. Here Megan Rapinoe discusses how Title IX can be improved,
the leadership lessons that came out of the equal pay fight, and the
importance of transgender inclusion in sports. _

Megan Rapinoe of OL Reign looks on against the Washington Spirit
during the second half at Lumen Field on May 22, 2022 in Seattle,
Washington., Steph Chambers // Time

 

Title IX, [[link removed]] the
federal legislation mandating equal opportunities for men’s and
women’s participation in sports, turns 50 on June 23. The golden
anniversary offers opportunities to recognize the advancements of
women’s athletics, such as the pioneering collective bargaining
agreement,
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on May 18 by the United States Soccer Federation, the U.S Women’s
National Team Players Association and the United States National
Soccer Team Players Association, that creates true pay equity in the
sport. Players like Megan Rapinoe,
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along with teammate Alex Morgan was the leading goal-scorer for the
United States during its 2019 World Cup championship run, had long
advocated for equal pay, going so far to sue their employer, US
Soccer, that year in a gender discrimination case.

While female athletes have enjoyed great gains, inequalities do
persist in sports. TIME caught up with Rapinoe to discuss how Title IX
can be improved, the leadership lessons that came out of the equal pay
fight, and the importance of transgender inclusion in sports.

_This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity._

What does Title IX mean to you?

Oh, goodness. I mean, Title IX gave me the opportunity to play soccer
in college and get a scholarship. I don’t think I even knew about it
until probably I got to college, or a little bit after. It wasn’t in
my consciousness. That’s kind of the amazing thing about my
generation is, we didn’t have to think about it. It was just there
for us.

Take the elite aspect out of it, how many women that have just been
able to go to college and play a sport? To go to college and to get a
scholarship and to not be saddled with student debt? What’s the
impact of that in the workplace and thought leadership in business
and, every aspect of life? Multiple generations of women, for the
first time, we’re able to have these opportunities and break out of
the extremely restrictive roles that we had been assigned to for so
long. So the impact is immeasurable. I think not only in this country,
but around the world. It was a transformational piece of legislation.

What do you think the shortcomings of Title IX have been, and how do
we fix them?

I think the holes probably mirror the holes in society. I’m sure
there’s a racial blind spot. I’m sure there’s an LGBTQ blind
spot. I’m sure there’s an immigrant blind spot, all of that. Title
IX is also charged with handling sexual assault and rape on college
campuses. We know that that is continuing to be rampant and
underreported. And even when it is reported, it’s so difficult to
get anything done.

You and more than 500 female athletes signed an amicus brief 
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support of Roe v. Wade: the brief argued that Roe was essential for
the effectiveness of Title IX, as choice offered many women the
opportunity to pursue sports. Is it a sort of cruel irony that on the
50th anniversary of Title IX, a leaked Supreme Court opinion indicated
that Roe may be overturned?

Completely. I think it’s terrifying to be honest. I don’t think
anything is safe. Why would it ever? I mean, [the Court] struck down
the voting rights act. Are we insane? So we’re potentially on the
verge of striking down Roe v. Wade. I mean, I don’t think that this
Republican Party will stop at anything. We absolutely need to be
vigilant. It is really sad that 50 years on from Title IX, and that so
far on from Roe v. Wade, we’re bringing up not just settled law, but
a settled desire and progression that the majority of the country
really wants. This is not the will of the majority of the people, by
any means at all.

Where do you think women’s sports is going in the next 50 years?

I’m, by nature, hugely optimistic. I think that there’s enough
going on right now, we can look at our lawsuit, the success of our
team, look at the WNBA, we can look at a million different places and
see that progress is really taking hold. And it’s not just because,
oh, it’s the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do. It’s
the right thing to do for your ROI. I think that the we are at the
bottom of a hockey stick of growth in women’s sports.

One of the trappings that’s really easy to fall into for women’s
sports is trying to mirror and mimic every single thing that men’s
sports has done. I don’t think that’s the goal. It’s different,
right? And that’s okay. It doesn’t have to be exactly the same. We
don’t have to use every single thing that men’s sports has done,
because frankly, not all of it has worked. We should use the benefit
of hindsight, and we should understand what’s good to take, and
where can we innovate, where can we move forward. It’s going be
difficult in a lot of ways for men’s sports to be as nimble as
women’s sports, even though we don’t have a fraction of the money
or the budget or the influence or the power. We can be nimble and we
can be really innovative and we can go into new frontiers probably a
lot quicker than men’s sports can. I don’t think my imagination
can even capture what’s possible with women’s sports in the next
50 years.

Where can women’s sports innovate?

Something that is just woven into the fabric of women’s sports is
that sort of cross section between sports and doing good to change the
world. When we think about, not just in America, but other places in
the world, developing nations, how can we use sports to spur
education, equality? Women’s sports has a leg up on everyone. While
having it be a very successful business model, we can use sports to
change the world in so many ways.

Right before this 50th anniversary of Title IX, US Soccer, the
women’s national team and the men’s national team agreed to a
historic Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that insures true equal
pay: the women and men will split FIFA’s pot of World Cup prize
money evenly. What leadership lessons did you learn during the
protracted fight for equal pay?

Girl. Don’t even get me started. I learned that just because
you’re the “leader”—and I think this can be in business or
whether you’re the CEO or the captain or whatever—don’t think
you know everything. You bring a lot. And you bring probably a very
special talent, and maybe a talent that is more glorified in
society—not necessarily more important— and that’s maybe why
you’re at the top. But the best leaders know how to say, I don’t
know. Know how to delegate and know how to not only get the most out
of themselves, but try to get the most out of everyone else. Allowing
people the space to be themselves and bring their special talent to
the table is the most important thing. Even within the team, if just
the loudest people in the room are talking, Becky Sauerbrunn
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not going to talk over them. She will never talk louder than me. But
that doesn’t mean that I should be speaking. She’s smarter than me
in a lot of different ways. And I need to understand, as a leader and
as someone who does have a loud voice, I need to recognize I don’t
know everything and create that space for Becky.
 

Are you worried about US Soccer delivering on the promise of the CBA?
You’ve been fighting the federation for so long, it would be human
nature to be skeptical.

I can’t hold every single grudge that I have. That’s not right.
And that’s also not how progress is made. And that’s not what’s
going to be best for the next generation. Contrary to what people
think, I’m not that combative. I don’t like conflict. And it took
up a lot of energy and a lot of time, a lot of emotional energy. And
that’s not the goal, just to keep fighting. I’d rather keep
growing.

This is day one of not only a new contract that means a lot to all of
us, but it’s a new relationship. And that requires both parties to
show up with an open mind and an open heart and vulnerability to build
that together. So that we can move forward because there was a lot of
contention and pain. The healing has to begin. What I’ve always said
about this relationship, is that we’re wasting our f-cking time and
we’re wasting our f-cking money. Them and us. Why don’t we do this
together in a way that is fair and equal? Yes, you will have to pay
them a lot more money than you used to. But ultimately we’re all
going to be better for it. We will all make more money for it. We will
all grow the sport in a much more healthy and vibrant way moving
forward than we ever would if we just continue to fight.

What do you think is the biggest shortcoming you’ve had as a leader
and how have you tried to work on that?

I am not always as thoughtful and analytical and slow as I need to be.
Sometimes I want to wriggle out of being uncomfortable, and so you can
just make quick decisions, when it’s better to sit in it. Picking
and choosing those right moments to use the cudgel of pink hair, I
think is a growth area, for sure.

Has there been an example where you weren’t as slow as you needed to
be?

It’s no secret that [former US coach] Jill [Ellis] and I had a
little bit of tension. I don’t really like swallowing pills, right?
It’s definitely necessary. And I think there were times I didn’t
and it was not appropriate, whether that’s talking back or having a
certain attitude or having a chip on my shoulder.

What leadership lessons did you learn during the 2019 World Cup, when,
while you were attempting to lead the US team to the title as one of
the co-captains, the President of the United States was attacking you
on Twitter?
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In that instance, obviously it was not that comfortable. I don’t
think [Donald] Trump is a serious person. I was one of many women that
he went after. But I think it was really important to keep my anxiety
or fear or uncertainty that I had around that to myself. And so
outwardly, it was kind of a funny joke within the team. Like, bro, the
f-cking president is tweeting at you, what on earth? And I’m like, I
know, this is insane. So that ability to almost like dissociate from
the reality that the President United States is trying to dunk on his
own citizen and a player that’s trying to win the World Cup, and
just being able to shoulder a lot of that myself. We decided to sue
the Federation. We have all the pressure on us in the world. I’ve
like dyed my hair pink. The President is trying to dunk on us. This
could wreck teams. This could completely fold your chances at a World
Cup. So I think that ability to kind of make a joke out of it, but
also allow the team to be relaxed. It felt like a must win World Cup.
I know we feel all that, but we have to laugh. We have to celebrate
our goals. We have to enjoy ourselves. I think we all did a really
good job of preparing the team and shielding the team from what they
didn’t need to deal with.

What’s been the biggest challenge in your role advocating for LGBTQ
rights?

Once I figured it out, I was like: Oh, this is awesome. I’m gay and
my whole life makes sense now. For a long time, I was the only player
that was out. And so just being the only spokesperson and making sure
I’m setting the right example, saying the right things, whether it
comes to gay marriage or difficult and nuanced topics like trans
inclusion in sports. Those are the challenges of just continuing to
stay educated. I am not just speaking for me, I’m speaking for a lot
of people. I don’t want to make anything weird. Nothing goes unsaid.
Speak it plainly. And I’m gonna speak it loudly, and I think that
that helps other people who maybe don’t have the ability to do that,
or who aren’t in a place to do that quite yet.

You mentioned the issue of transgender inclusion in sports, which is
such a hot subject
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now, as many states have passed bills that ban or limit transgender
sports participation. Where do you stand on this issue?

I’m 100% supportive of trans inclusion. People do not know very much
about it. We’re missing almost everything. Frankly, I think what a
lot of people know is versions of the right’s talking points because
they’re very loud. They’re very consistent, and they’re
relentless.

At the highest level, there is regulation. In collegiate sports, there
is regulation. And at the Olympic and professional level. It’s not
like it’s a free-for-all where everyone’s just doing whatever.

And I think people also need to understand that sports is not the most
important thing in life, right? Life is the most important thing in
life. And so much of this trans inclusion argument has been put
through the extremely tiny lens of elite sports. Like that is not the
way that we need to be framing this question. We’re talking about
kids. We’re talking about people’s lives. We’re talking about
the entire state government coming down on one child in some states,
three children in some states. They are committing suicide, because
they are being told that they’re gross and different and evil and
sinful and they can’t play sports with their friends that they grew
up with. Not to mention trying to take away health care. I think
it’s monstrous.

I would also encourage everyone out there who is afraid someone’s
going to have an unfair advantage over their kid to really take a step
back and think what are we actually talking about here. We’re
talking about people’s lives. I’m sorry, your kid’s high school
volleyball team just isn’t that important. It’s not more important
than any one kid’s life.

Show me the evidence that trans women are taking everyone’s
scholarships, are dominating in every sport, are winning every title.
I’m sorry, it’s just not happening. So we need to start from
inclusion, period. And as things arise, I have confidence that we can
figure it out. But we can’t start at the opposite. That is cruel.
And frankly, it’s just disgusting.

So, we need to really kind of take a step back and get a grip on what
we’re really talking about here because people’s lives are at
risk. Kids’ lives are at risk with the rates of suicide, the rates
of depression and negative mental health and drug abuse. We’re
putting everything through G_od forbid a trans person be successful in
sports. _Get a grip on reality and take a step back.

You’re on the roster for the upcoming CONCACAF Women’s
championship
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a key qualifier for the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Olympics. How do you
view your role now? So do you see yourself as more of the veteran
mentor? Or do you still want to be the focal point of the offense,
scoring lots of goals?

Well, I certainly hope my role has changed because I don’t think
I’m going to be able to play 90 minutes, six or seven games in a row
in a World Cup. It’s most certainly changed, and that’s something
I’m honestly really excited about. I think that, just from a soccer
perspective, I think I still have a lot to give. Can I give everything
that I gave in the last World Cup? No, I don’t think that’s
possible. Unless there’s some sort of miracle that happens.

But I can still give a lot on the field and particularly in the
mentorship role. It’s not like I can’t play soccer anymore. I
think people have a little bit of a short memory when it comes to me
and when it comes to aging athletes. Everyone just needs to pump the
brakes. And I think I’ve earned a little bit of grace.

At the Tokyo Olympics last summer, those last few games had the feel
of a swan-song for you and some of the other veterans. Do you still
have desire to play in next year’s World Cup and the 2024 Olympics?
Are you all in on this cycle?

I think I’m all in on this next World Cup. I’ve probably played my
last Olympics. With the smaller roster, that feels like a lot.
That’s a difficult cycle. You go two years back-to-back and I think
other players are going to be in a much better position to be
successful than I would.

I’ve had injuries this year. That kept me out for a while. But it
feels like a new dawn and a new day.

* sports
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* women's sports
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* female athletes
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* Megan Rapinoe
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* Title IX
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* equal pay
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* transgender
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* transgender inclusion
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* LGBTQ
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