Megan Rapinoe Encourages Women: ‘Sport Your Period’

Megan Rapinoe is nothing short of a lightning rod when it comes to the public discourse in sports and American life. But the newly retired U.S. soccer star is less likely to want to talk about her World Cup wins or personal achievements on the pitch as she is to talk up women and the future of women in sports.

During an interview early this week, Rapinoe said that she thinks the “increasing conversation about gender and equality” has made it the right time for her to discuss an often unmentioned aspect of female existence. That topic: the menstrual cycle.

Today, it has been announced that Rapinoe will partner with Knix, a women’s wear brand that has tasked Rapinoe with helping normalize conversations about young women’s physical health and well-being. Rapinoe said the topic is just part of the experience of female athletes.

“We’re finding that young women are dropping out of sports around the onset of their periods. Those numbers are far too high, especially since we know the positive impact sports can have on girls, whether it’s their confidence, relationship-building, or the physical aspects of sports,” said during our Zoom interview on Monday.

According to the Sport Your Period Initiative, one in two teen girls will skip sports or drop out altogether because of their period. At the same time, 99% of athletes have competed in their period at an international competition, including Rapinoe.

In a new video, Rapinoe talks about how she and “all female athletes” have competed professionally and on the world stage, scoring goals and winning big games while on their period.

“A lot of girls feel embarrassment around their period or that it’s taboo. It should not be taboo. It’s normal; it’s how we all got on this earth, how we reproduce,” Rapinoe said, stating that it’s “all a big part” of being an athlete.

“There’s not often been much space” Rapinoe said, historically speaking, “to talk about your cycle or how it interacts with you in sports, and I love this campaign from Knix. It celebrates that part of our journey as people, as athletes—during the Olympics or in the league—and to talk about it and normalize it is very powerful.”

The Sport Your Period Initiative also found, during its commissioned study on the subject, that nearly two-thirds of athletes at all levels have felt uncomfortable talking about their periods with their coaches.

To boost the conversation, Knix stated today that it will pay eligible athletes who compete at the national or international level up to $2,000 each for speaking publicly about their periods and the sport they play.

“I’m thrilled to be partnering with Knix on this important campaign. There have been countless times where I’ve scored game-changing goals and never mentioned that I was on my period,” said Rapinoe.

In December 2019, Rapinoe was named Sports Illustrated’s 2019 Sportsperson of the Year, which placed her on the magazine’s front cover. No other soccer player has won this honor, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Pelé, Maradona, and Lionel Messi.

VIDEO: “Too much information” is not a thing to Megan Rapinoe

That same year, Rapinoe also won both that year’s Best FIFA Women’s Player and Ballon d’Or Féminin awards, along with the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, this that women should embrace every part of their “physical journey” as athletes, and mention that women “sweat and work hard” as any athlete does, no matter what the sport.

Knix founder and president Joanna Griffiths also weighed in on the matter. “The facts are simple: Women often get paid less to participate in sports and compete while managing their periods. So why not pay them to talk about it?” Griffiths said in a company statement.

“It’s staggering to see the impact that periods have in sports, and yet unless we see a visceral image of a marathon runner bleeding through her shorts or an entire industry rebelling against wearing white, it’s not something that is spoken about. This campaign will make a difference in how people talk about periods in sports, and Megan Rapinoe is the perfect person to kick it off.”

Elaborating on the Knix and Sport Your Period effort, Rapinoe added that, “it’s about celebrating athletes at the highest level, doing the thing we all love to watch athletes do: being great and leaving it all out there on the field.”

US soccer on the rebound

The last FIFA Women’s World Cup, which took place in Australia and New Zealand in mid-summer 2023, was a definite bump in the road for the four-time World Cup champions.

After one win and two draws in the tournament group stage, the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) crashed out of the World Cup after a goalless draw, then losing 5-4 on penalty kicks versus Sweden.

The USWNT heads into this Summer’s Olympics in Paris ranked No. 5 in the world. Despite the US Women’s ability to stage a World Cup title defense last summer, Rapinoe said there is much optimism among the program, its players, and the fans.

“You don’t always succeed, but that’s what we love about sports. And looking forward to the Olympics, everyone is excited, there’s a new team and there is an opportunity of this new group of players to make their mark.

November of last year, the USWNT announced the appointment of Emma Hayes, an English coach who led Chelsea FC’s women to seven FA Women’s Super League championship seasons.

Hayes has on her USA roster exciting newer players such as Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson within its scoring ranks, along with veterans Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle and others.

When I asked Rapinoe about the ample criticism the USWNT faced after last year’s unsuccessful World Cup, she hinted that it’s just par for the course.

“I think any woman who’s elite in her profession will get torn apart by critics. We have a different standard for women. The expectation is perfection.”

But Rapinoe said just the same that the USWNT’s players have the highest expectations of themselves on the pitch, and big expectations are the outcome of their long, successful run and two successive World Cup titles, in 2015 and 2019.

A legend’s transition off the pitch

It’s not surprising that, along with her long list of accolades, Megan Rapinoe is set to accept one more next month.

On Sunday, August 25, 2024, the Seattle Reign will host and honor Rapinoe in a ceremony in which she will have her No. 15 jersey retired. The move, which the NWSL team announced in March of this year, tugs on Rapinoe’s heartstrings.

“It’s extraordinary and meaningful to be honored in this way. I will probably be bawling,” she said. “Not balling, buy bawling, totally crying at the event.”

In addition to her soccer-related appearances and outspoken support for the league and women’s soccer, Rapinoe and her partner and fiancé, WNBA legend Sue Bird, are set to get into the podcast game.

Their production company, A Touch More, will produce a podcast called “A Touch More Live,” a relaunch of a previous series Bird and Rapinoe started during the COVID pandemic via Instagram Live. New episodes will premiere later in the summer.

Last month the duo announced a distribution agreement with Vox Media, and stated that they new series “aims to tear up old scripts, open gates, and inspire others to do the same.”

Rapinoe said that her and Bird’s competitive drive and different personalities will shape the conversations they plan to have with top-flight athletes, entertainers, sociopolitical activists, and other guests queued up for the show.

“It’s been really fun that we bring differing perspectives and come at things in different ways. Being able to storytell, decide who we want to interview, and what we will want to ask them so far has been great,” said Rapinoe. “It’s also been a good way for both of us to transition out of our careers into something new.”

Read Frye’s interviews with Dara Torres and Rose Lavelle.

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