Megan Rapinoe and the US Womens National Team (USWNT) suffered a stunning loss to Sweden Sunday. However, the loss didn’t keep the USWNT from “celebrating their journey.” Upon witnessing the positivity of the USWNT, Womens World Cup organizers announced the first ever “World Cup Participation Trophy” and awarded it to Rapinoe and her team.
During a post-game interview Rapinoe gushed, “I can’t thank the World Cup enough for recognizing the enormous work I and my team put into this achievement. We are honored to be the first ever to receive this most prestigious award.” Rapinoe also took the occasion to again slam the gender pay gap in professional sports. “It also infuriates me that women can achieve such a monumental accomplishment and still be paid so poorly. The mens team has never reached such prestige, yet they are paid 28 times what the women make. It’s so unfair that I only earn five million dollars when Christian Renaldo earns a hundred and forty.” When asked how she felt about her potential game wining penalty kick being two inches short, Rapinoe replied, “story of my life.”
ESPN hailed Rapino’s exuberance on the win and bold statement. “This is losing at its finest. The team lost with grace and poise. And Rapinoe is absolutely right in lamenting her paltry $5M salary. It’s shameful that she isn’t paid more,” read their Sunday article.