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American soccer legend Megan Rapinoe is as well known for her athletics — winning two World Cups and two Olympic medals — as her longtime advocacy.
And he says the latter simply calls him a product deal.
A few months ago, Rapinoe was packing to play in the 2026 FIFA World Cup when she got a call from her agent to get her out, she wrote. in the July 13 guest issue of Marie Claire. The brand, which she did not name, recently used artificial intelligence software that “flags ‘at-risk’ talent,” Rapinoe wrote.
“I was speaking in support of you trans rights,“ he wrote.
“Politicians who are allies have held a debate trans athletes in sports so intoxicated and filled with false horror that symbols lacking moral clarity escape mere association. “
Organizations and brands are increasingly using AI to screen celebrities and influencers for endorsement risk to avoid potential conflicts.
A recent article in Insurance Business magazine states that celebrity insurance tools address “to grow a business concern with a partnership that can deliver an 80 percent increase in brand recognition – or wipe out billions in shareholder value within weeks.”
Rapinoe, who described herself as a “visionary” in a previous interview with CBC’s The Sunday Magazine, has taken on a number of social and political issues over the years, including equal pay, abortion and the rights of trans athletes.
So it’s not really surprising, but it’s disappointing that the brand is said to have flagged Rapinoe as “dangerous,” it said. Cheri Bradish, director of the future of sports lab and sports programs at Toronto Metropolitan University.
“You’d think they’d know the behavior of an athlete,” Bradish said.
“Female athletes, to be female athletes, and the women’s sports movement, leaders are all bound to be changemakers and speak out against social norms.”
CBC News has reached out to Rapinoe’s representatives and has not heard back.
There is value in speaking
In 2012, Rapinoe broke ground as one of the first athletes to come out as gay just weeks before leading the US women’s soccer team to a gold medal.
He has been around for a long time promote equal pay for women in US soccer. He also sparked a national controversy in 2016 kneeling during the national anthem at a game in collaboration with NFL player Colin Kaepernick. In 2019, he made headlines after saying in an interview that he would not visit Donald Trump’s White House if his team won the World Cup that year.
In 2020, he was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people.
“In an era when many want athletes to ‘stick to sports,’ Rapinoe — a proud feminist and gay advocate — he refuses to be silenced,” the magazine wrote.
Recently, she has publicly defended transgender athletes, speaking out against the banning of transgender athletes from sports, and dedicating her Time Woman of the Year honor to the transgender community in 2023.
“Speaking out pays a price for any athlete,” Bradish said, citing the example of Kaepernick, who says the NFL ostracized him after he refused to kneel during the US national anthem in 2016 in response to racism and police brutality in the US.
“And I would suggest that those on the sidelines, from different ethnicities or sexual orientations, are seen to be paying the price.”
‘Witch Hunt’
In her article, Rapinoe criticizes the recent US Supreme Court decision upholding laws in Idaho and West Virginia that bar transgender women from women’s sports teams.
“These laws are some of the most intense political attacks on LGBTQ+ people in recent years, and turn back the clock on our rights, including renewed threats against marriage equality,” he wrote.
She also describes a proposed ballot measure in Washington that would require all girls to get a medical certificate to play on sports teams, and would subject them to genital exams to confirm.
“In their witch hunt for the few children who play school games in the state, supporters of I-638 will expel thousands of girls from games because their parents cannot afford the required tests or refuse to send their daughters for genital exams.”
Rapinoe posted the article on social media site Threads on Monday, thanking Marie Claire “to find the space and support to write this.”
“This is not and has never been about sports or protecting women. To all my trans family, I am with you forever and ever.”
The US Supreme Court has ruled in favor of overturning lower court decisions that found laws in Idaho and West Virginia that bar transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports at the school level violate the US Constitution and federal anti-discrimination law. The 6-3 decision to uphold the rules in Idaho and West Virginia paves the way for 29 other states to pursue laws limiting the participation of trans athletes in women’s sports.
