Megan Rapinoe in Epic USWNT Rally Speech: 'We Have to Love More, Hate Less'
United States star Megan Rapinoe closed out the women's national team's victory rally with a moving speech in front of New York City's City Hall.
Rapinoe helped lead the USWNT to its second consecutive Women's World Cup title with a 2–0 win over the Netherlands. She added the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards to her trophy collection thanks to her tournament performance. But off the field, she's been vocal about equal pay for the team and standing up to President Donald Trump.
In her epic speech, Rapinoe thanked supporters and tasked everyone to be better.
"This is my charge to everyone: We have to be better," she said. "We have to love more, hate less. We gotta listen more and talk less. We gotta know that this is everybody's responsibility...it's our responsibility to make this world a better place"
Before Rapinoe spoke, U.S. Soccer Federation president Carlos Cordeiro spoke, but was interrupted by chants of “Equal pay! Equal pay!” While speaking, he also mispronounced Rapinoe's last name.
However, in her speech, Rapinoe endorsed Cordeiro and gave him the team's support by saying everyone in a position of power gets booed.
On Tuesday, Rapinoe said she "held up [her] end of the bargain" after Trump called her out during the tournament for saying she should win before she speaks out against going to the White House. Rapinoe told Sports Illustrated's Jenny Vrentas that she wouldn't visit the White House if the USWNT won the World Cup. Her comments went viral when a video was released ahead of the team's quarterfinal where she underscored that she was "not going to the f---ing White House." Following the tournament, Trump congratulated the team on the win for its "great and exciting play."