U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe becomes 4th woman to win SI's Sportsperson of the Year
Selected for dominating 'the world's game, on the world's stage, under attack by a world leader'
U.S. national team star Megan Rapinoe has been named Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated.
The magazine says Rapinoe, who is a lesbian, is just the fourth woman in the award's 66-year history to win the honour unaccompanied, calling it "a remarkable athletic achievement and a reflection of entrenched gender biases."
This year, Megan Rapinoe was a galvanizing force on a team that is now looked up to by any woman who doesn’t want to be told she’s come far enough, who’s taking matters into her own hands.<a href="https://twitter.com/JennyVrentas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JennyVrentas</a> on the 2019 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Sportsperson?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Sportsperson</a> of the Year: <a href="https://t.co/r3eawSnPYg">pic.twitter.com/r3eawSnPYg</a>
—@SInowRapinoe has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, who responded with critical tweets when she said she would not visit the White House if the U.S. women won the trophy.
"Rapinoe challenged perceptions of her, of female athletes, of all women. She led her teammates, three months before their tentpole tournament, to sue the U.S. Soccer Federation for equal pay and to declare in advance that they would not visit the White House when they won the Cup," the magazine said.
Rapinoe also won the FIFA Golden Boot and the Golden Ball for most goals and best player, respectively, after the U.S. beat the Netherlands 2-0 in July at the World Cup in France. She also captured the Women's Sports Foundation's Sportswoman of the Year award.