Megan Rapinoe did not even have time to break a sweat before going down with an apparently serious injury just three minutes into her final National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) game on Saturday night.
Rapinoe, who plays for the OL Reign of the NWSL, appeared to be making a play for the ball in the defensive half of the field during her team’s game against Gotham FC when she suddenly went down with a non-contact injury.
Megan Rapinoe goes down with an injury less than three minutes into the NWSL Final in her last career game 💔
She receives a standing ovation from Snapdragon Stadium pic.twitter.com/uwqG2epzMK
— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) November 12, 2023
After the game, Rapinoe told CBS Sports she was “pretty sure” she tore her Achilles tendon.
The injury marks the end of one of the longest and most controversial careers any athlete – male or female – has ever had. Rapinoe, who burst onto the national scene in 2018 after following in the footsteps of NFL anthem protester Colin Kaepernick and taking a knee during the national anthem, garnered more attention for her political stances than she did for anything on the soccer field.
Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports
This is no small accomplishment, considering Rapinoe’s time with the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) saw her win Olympic gold and two women’s world cups. However, Rapinoe’s insistence on protesting the anthem, repeatedly criticizing President Trump and essentially stumping for every left-wing cause known to man covered her exploits on the field and made her more of an activist than an athlete.
So insistent was Rapinoe on embracing left-wing causes that she seemed to contradict herself completely. The most obvious example of this came towards the end of her time with the USWNT, as she joined in with other female athletes to fight for equal pay with their counterparts on the U.S. Men’s National Team, only to then turn around and argue that males should be allowed to play in women’s sports. A move that would ultimately disenfranchise and prove disastrous for women as more athletic men would take roster spots away from females.
Nonetheless, Rapinoe persisted in her belief that “trans women are women” and remains determined to be an activist in that cause. And now, with her playing days behind her, she can be a full-time activist in any cause she wants.