President Joe Biden claimed on Monday that Megan Rapinoe, a left-wing activist and U.S. Women’s Soccer player, represented “the best of what American stands for” despite reports that she bullied her teammates into kneeling for the national anthem.
During a ceremony at the White House on Monday to celebrate the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, which recently won the championship, Biden praised Rapinoe and her partner, Sue Bird, who is a member of the basketball team.
“Between the two of them they share Olympic medals, World Cup titles, the WNBA championship, and above all, they define integrity and character,” he said. “And, as president, as an American, I am proud of how they have represented us, and they represent the best of what America stands for.”
Rapinoe was one of the first athletes to follow failed NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick in kneeling during the national anthem, ostensibly to protest police brutality.
According to one of her former teammates, Hope Solo, Rapinoe pressured the rest of the U.S. Women’s Soccer team to follow suit.
“It’s tough,” Solo said during a recent interview. “I’ve seen Megan Rapinoe almost bully players into kneeling because she really wants to stand up for something in her particular way.”
Solo said that although Rapinoe claimed she was pushing leftist social justice values to be more inclusive, the outcome was usually more division.
“Right now what I’ve seen is there’s been so much debate about the kneeling, about the not kneeling. I know most people stand against discrimination,” Solo added. “And I live in the South, I live in a very conservative area here in North Carolina in the South. Obviously I have friends on both sides of the aisle, but I think the kneeling thing can be very divisive.”
