The Capitol riots are ‘very disturbing and frightening’

USWNT star Megan Rapinoe called the riot last week at the United States Capitol “very disturbing and frightening.”

Rapinoe spoke to reporters on Tuesday for the first time since a crowd supporting President Donald J. Trump stormed and occupied the U.S. Capitol. The violent riot resulted in the death of five people, including a police officer from the Capitol.

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“I think the courage of lawmakers to come back in there and get on with their work, and the utter lack of merit of some of those lawmakers to continue to incite violence and still call for the cancellation of elections when the term has been given by the United States and by the people of the United States, it is absolutely insane, ”said Rapinoe, who joined the USWNT during his January camp after nearly a year of absence from the United States. ‘team.

“They should be held accountable.”

Throughout his career, Rapinoe has been a strong advocate for equal pay and other social justice issues, including LGBTQ rights. She quarreled with Trump via Twitter during the World Cup and participated in voting initiatives in favor of President-elect Joe Biden last year.

She became emotional when asked how she felt seeing her fellow NWSL players kneel down and speak out against systemic racism during the Challenge Cup. In 2016, Rapinoe knelt in solidarity with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. US Soccer responded by banning players from kneeling during the anthem, a rule that was rescinded last June.

“I just have a tremendous amount of pride and respect for so many people who come through the course, learn and grow, and feel more comfortable talking about things,” she said. “What we’ve seen throughout the summer and just during the pandemic, with the protests, I hope a lot of people have opened up, especially my white teammates.”

She praised US Soccer for its apologies for the ban.

Rapinoe, 35, last played for the national team on March 11, when she scored in a 3-1 SheBelieves Cup victory over Japan. She told reporters that she was happy to return to play football.

“I actually feel really good physically and just feel refreshed in a lot of ways, mentally and emotionally. I obviously spent a lot of time quarantining myself at home with Sue. [Bird] and just being able to relax, “said Rapinoe.” But I’m obviously so excited to start playing again. It was really hard not to be on the pitch with my teammates and not to have a consistent training environment. Anyone who really knows me knows that I hate training like this. “

When the coronavirus began to take hold in the United States last March and the National Women’s Soccer League called off its season, Rapinoe – who plays for OL Reign – crouched at home.

She retired from the NWSL Challenge Cup tournament in a Utah bubble last summer and from the league’s fall series. She also chose not to participate in the national team’s October camp.

She said part of her reasoning for the break was fear of COVID-19, but she was also exhausted by the whirlwind that followed the United States’ World Cup victory in France. Rapinoe took home FIFA Best Player and Ballon d’Or honors after participating in the inaugural soccer tournament.

For her career, Rapinoe has scored 52 goals with 68 assists in 168 appearances for the national team since her first call-up in 2006. She scored from a penalty kick in the United States’ victory over the Netherlands in the final of the 2019 World Cup.

During her hiatus this summer, she hosted the HBO special “Seeing America”, which featured US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and she published a memoir, “One Life.” In October, she and WNBA veteran Sue Bird announced their engagement.

Coach Vlatko Andonovski said Rapinoe did not neglect his fitness during the layoff. He expects Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd, who haven’t played since last spring due to injury, to get minutes in two exhibition games against Colombia later this month in Orlando, Florida.

“Megan and Carli have done a tremendous and wonderful job. Our high performance department, high performance coach, has been watching everything they do,” said Andonovski. “We have a pretty good idea of ​​where they stand. In fact, they’re both a little ahead of what we expected of them at the January camp from a physical standpoint.”

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.