Leaving sport better than they found it: Two legends take a final bow

On November 11, 2023 Ali Krieger and Megan Rapinoe will face off as the NY/NJ Gotham compete against the OL Reign for the National Womens Soccer League Championship title. Krieger and Rapinoe, who have been teammates for over a decade on the US Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT) both announced their retirement from the sport of soccer earlier this season. Decorated champions of the sport, Krieger and Rapinoe's absence will be felt on the pitch. However, it is their legacy off the pitch that I want to reflect on.

Personally, these two athletes are role models. Speaking up and speaking out against against issues of gender inequity, and racial injustice, on the highest stage, Krieger and Rapinoe use their platform to fight for the next generation on and off the pitch.

In 2016, Megan Rapinoe was one of the only white athletes to join Colin Kaepernick in taking a knee to protest racial injustice. Saying "The more I’ve been able to learn about gay rights and equal pay and gender equity and racial inequality, the more that it all intersects," Rapinoe made the decision to risk her roster spot and career in the name of intersectional justice. This is how an athlete using their platform to be an agent of change. This was and is bigger than sport.

During the 2019 World Cup, Rapinoe infamously was attacked via twitter by then President Trump after saying she would not attend the White House. Ali Krieger joined Rapinoe in speaking out against the actions of Trump, asserting "I refuse to respect a man that warrants no respect." Both openly gay athletes, Rapinoe and Krieger had critiqued Trump for his anti-LGBTQ+ policies as well as his islamophobia and anti-Blackness. Trump responded saying that Rapinoe and the USWNT should "never disrespect the flag," and should "win before they talk." The USWNT would go on to be world champions at the 2019 World Cup. Both Krieger and Rapinoe were instrumental in the lawsuit for the fight for USWNT's equal pay and both embody what it means to be an advocate for change.

As these two legends take the pitch in San Diego this weekend, there accomplishments on the field cannot be understated. 2x World Champions, Krieger and Rapinoe have made an invaluable impact on the sport of soccer. While basking in their greatness on the pitch, it is important to recognize their tireless work to leave the sport and community around them in a better place then they found it.