Megan Rapinoe is ending her phenomenal year on a high note.
On Monday,Sports Illustratedannounced Rapinoe and as the2019 Sportsperson of the Year.
The two-time World Cup champion, 34, will be featured on the magazine’s Dec. 16 cover issue, which will also feature the recipients of this year’s awards, including Warrick Dunn (The Muhammad Ali Legacy Award), Luka Dončić (Breakout of the Year), and Ally Sentnor (SportsKid of the Year).
In herSIinterview, Rapinoe, who is openly gay, spoke about the importance of standing up for what she feels is right — which includes her hard stance against PresidentDonald Trumpand his policies.
Jeffrey A. Salter
“The feeling of not standing up when I know something is wrong is so much worse than whatever happens if I stand up,” she said.
“I feel in a way this year, and particularly the World Cup, gave people not only a motivation and inspiration but almost like a path forward to doing something, doing anything, in a time that feels a little bit paralyzing,” she continued.
Rapinoe added: “I feel like I am being recognized on behalf of the team for reasons of trying to do better in the world. Everything we do on the field and off the field, I think this is all going into it. That really means a lot to me. Yes, it is a sports award and you have to go out and perform. But really me winning it, I feel is a win for the good guys.”
The soccer star has been an outspoken social and political advocate — becoming one of the first athletes to kneel in solidarity withColin Kaepernick, leading the lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation for equal pay, and fighting for LGBTQ rights.
Megan Rapinoe.FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty
“I think that I’m particularly and uniquely and very deeply American,” Rapinoe toldESPN in an interview on July 3. “If we want to talk about the ideals that we stand for, all the songs and the anthem and sort of what we were founded on, I think I’m extremely American.”
She stressed that the United States is a great country and she considers herself lucky to be an American. But it “doesn’t mean we can’t get better” or “shouldn’t always strive to be better.”
“I think that this country was founded on a lot of great ideals,but it was also founded on slavery,” she noted. “And I think we just need to be really honest about that and be really open in talking about that, so we can reconcile that and hopefully move forward and make this country better for everyone.”
Rapinoe and her fellowSI2019 honorees will attend the award ceremony taking place Monday at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City. Presenters includeShaquille O’Neal,Ann Curry, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks andStranger Thingsstar Noah Schnapp.
source: people.com
