Today in people who are in need of a grip: Everyone trolling the US Women’s National Team after their heartbreaking upset loss in the World Cup. I never thought I’d see the day when so many self-described “patriots” would take so much glee in seeing an American team defeated, but here we are.
Primary instigators of the online trolling against the USWNT in general, and Megan Rapinoe in particular, include a certain thrice-indicted former president who posted, “WOKE EQUALS FAILURE,” in his long screed decrying the team. Another high-profile hater is Piers Morgan, who devoted an entire column to calling Rapinoe and the team “unpatriotic losers.” (Reminder: Morgan is British.) And ahead of the match, Megyn Kelly claimed she was “not rooting” for the team because of Rapinoe’s past support of transgender people, Black Lives Matter, and other human rights issues. “She’s poisoned the entire team against the country for which they play,” Kelly said on her podcast. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not rooting for them. I’m not with them. I hope they lose…. It’s shameful.”
One Twitter—excuse me—X user even felt the need to drag Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn into the fray. “Almost better than Lindsey Vonn falling on her ass after criticizing Trump,” the tweet reads, over a video of Rapinoe sobbing after the loss.
Vonn, speaking nothing but facts, decided to clap back in a quote-tweet. “Your comments are almost as bad as your bio,” the athlete wrote. “I don’t see you out there on the pitch. How about giving these athletes some respect, regardless of political opinions. My word.”
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World Cup champion and actual soccer player Briana Scurry had a response to these criticisms herself. The USWNT didn’t lose because of “wokeness,” Scurry explained patiently on CNN: “I don’t think it has anything to do with the amazing achievements that we have done off the pitch, and the way that we have, as a group, stood up for those who can’t speak up for themselves. That’s something that we have done for 30 years and obviously has not been something that has hindered us in winning championships. We will win again.”
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