Home | WebMail |

      Calgary | Regions | Local Traffic Report | Advertise on Action News | Contact

Posted: 2019-06-25T23:30:21Z | Updated: 2019-06-26T16:53:28Z

Megan Rapinoe , co-captain of the U.S. womens national soccer team, has no plans to visit President Donald Trump at the White House if the squad wins the Womens World Cup now underway.

In fact, she doesnt think the record-breaking team will even be offered the opportunity.

Im not going to the fucking White House, she scoffed when asked if she was excited at the prospect of such a visit during interview clips Eight by Eight magazine released Tuesday.

Were not gonna be invited, she added. I doubt it.

Rapinoe elaborated in the print version of the interview published earlier this month.

[Trump] tries to avoid inviting a team that might decline, she said. Or, like he did when the (NBAs Golden State) Warriors turned him down (in 2017), hell claim they hadnt been invited in the first place.

Trump canceled a visit by the NFLs Philadelphia Eagles to honor their February 2018 Super Bowl win after most of the teams players vowed to skip it. Based on comments by some players on the Toronto Raptors, the newly crowned NBA champs, a trip by the team to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is in doubt.

And although several college teams that have won championships in various sports have made the White House stop, this years winner of the NCAA mens basketball championship the University of Virginia conspicuously skipped a visit, citing logistical complications.

The clip of Rapinoes comments come a day after Trump told The Hill news outlet that he didnt think it was appropriate for her to protest during the national anthem at games an issue he has harped on since former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick in August 2016 took a knee during the song to protest police brutality and racial inequality.

In September of that year, Rapinoe became the first prominent white or female athlete to kneel during the anthem in solidarity with Kaepernick. In an apparent response to her actions six months later, the U.S. Soccer Federation amended its regulations to require all players to stand respectfully when the national anthem is played at games.

So instead of kneeling during while the anthem has played throughout the Womens World Cup, Rapinoe has declined to sing it and has stood with her hand at her side instead of over her heart.

She has also been involved in legal challenges demanding equal pay for female soccer players. And last June, she and WNBA star Sue Bird became the first openly gay couple to appear on the cover of ESPNs iconic body issue.

The womens soccer team has advanced to the World Cups quarterfinals and will play France on Friday.