Megyn Kelly criticizes Megan Rapinoe as soccer star retires
Megyn Kelly criticized Megan Rapinoe as the soccer star announced her retirement – claiming the athlete was “a terrible example for our little girls.”
Kelly discussed Rapinoe’s retirement from the U.S. national team on Tuesday on her SiriusXM podcast “The Megyn Kelly Show” with guest Carrie Prejean Boller, a former beauty queen turned conservative activist.
“Here is Megan Rapinoe on her final trip to the United States that made her rich, that got her a college scholarship, that gave her a reported $7 million a year in endorsements and fees for playing soccer for us in her swan song brought in the door,” Kelly said while playing a clip from Rapinoe’s final game.
The 38-year-old captain of the US women’s team did not put her hand on her heart or sing the national anthem before Sunday’s game against South Africa in Chicago.
In 2016, Rapinoe knelt during “The Star-Spangled Banner” before football games as a form of peaceful protest against the inequalities that exist in the United States – in keeping with NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s protest against police violence against black communities.
Many have praised Rapinoe for standing up for her beliefs, while others said her behavior was unpatriotic and unprofessional.
President Biden awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 2022, calling her “a champion of an essential American truth: that everyone, everyone, has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.”
But Kelly and other conservatives fall into the latter camp.
“She is a terrible example for our little girls,” Kelly said on her show. “All I can say is thank God these girls looked forward and didn’t look back at Megan Rapinoe. Let’s hope it’s metaphorically true. Except it’s an actual physical reality, because it’s not a model, thank God.”
Boller claimed that Rapinoe was “the epitome of narcissism.”
“I mean, think of all the privileges she had. “Think of all the money she made,” the guest said. “‘Oh, she’s so repressed and she stands up for things.’ No she is not. She is an absolute national disgrace for our country.”
Kelly said she hopes Rapinoe “rides off into the sunset” to be alone with her fiancée, retired WNBA star Sue Bird.
“I hope I never have to listen to her commentary on any football game or anything in the future because she doesn’t deserve it. She is not grateful for the support this country has shown her,” she said.
Kelly might be disappointed. Rapinoe and Bird founded a production company last year with the goal of amplifying underrepresented voices. according to NPR.
