Megan Rapinoe has become one of the strongest voices in the fight against racism and social inequality.
Her image gained relevance in recent years, especially after the waves of protests that arose in the United States as a result of the death of George Floyd.
The OL Reign forward believes that although there are several players involved in the fight against racism within football, this shouldn’t just be about black footballers.
“It is not just black players who have to talk about racism, not only gay players who have to talk about homophobia, not only women who have to talk about pay inequality,” Rapinoe told RMC Sport.
“We are all responsible, we must use our own voice to stop discrimination, to stop discrimination we face.
“It really isn’t up to the people who are already oppressed to make sure they shut down a system they are going through, this is not how there will be real social change; everyone must collaborate, like in the USA.”
Rapinoe also mentioned the good work done by Marcus Rashford in England in order to help the underprivileged and stressed that it should be imitated by the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Rashford and others in England have done fantastic things and I wish that other players in Europe could do something similar,” added Rapinoe.
“Football is the most popular sport in Europe; all eyes are on the players, they are among the best athletes.”
“When you see the commitment of certain athletes, like Serena Williams or LeBron James here in the United States, it is important that people like Rashford, Messi, [Antoine] Griezmann or Ronaldo get involved too as people will listen to them, as they are global role models.”
