Megan Rapinoe Digs In After Trump Criticism: ‘I Stand By the Remarks’

Megan Rapinoe on Thursday tried to quiet a brewing feud with President Trump sparked by her pledge to skip any visit by the United States women’s soccer team to the White House after the World Cup. Ms. Rapinoe said she stood by her remarks, apologizing only for using a obscenity to express them, and urged her teammates to join her in any potential boycott.

“I stand by the comments that I made about not wanting to go to the White House, with exception of the expletive,” she said. “My mom would be very upset about that.

“But I think obviously answering with a lot of passion, considering how much time and effort and pride we take in the platform that we have, and using it for good, and for leaving the game in a better place and hopefully the world in a better place — I don’t think that I would want to go and I would encourage my teammates to think hard about lending that platform or having that co-opted by an administration that doesn’t feel the same way and fight for the same things we fight for.”

Ms. Rapinoe said she was “not interested” in answering any more questions on the simmering controversy, and referred reporters to her many earlier comments about Mr. Trump and his administration’s policies. She was soon smiling and joking as the conversation shifted to soccer.

Source: The New York Times

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Megan Rapinoe • Megan Rapinoe • Donald Trump • United States women's national soccer team • White House • Obscenity • White House • Profanity • Association football •