On the latest episode of her podcast with Basketball Hall of Famer Sue Bird, former U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe cast doubt on the motivations behind calls to safeguard women’s athletics, challenging arguments that women’s sports require firm boundaries in the face of growing debate over transgender inclusion.
Rapinoe’s commentary was prompted by a recent op-ed from Elizabeth Eddy, a player for Angel City FC, who urged the National Women’s Soccer League to adopt clear gender standards and establish “different means of testing.” Eddy’s column sparked immediate reaction across the political and athletic spectrum, drawing both criticism and praise for raising an issue that has divided many in women’s sports.
Rapinoe, who has long positioned herself as a cultural critic within the sports world, focused her initial frustration not on Eddy’s argument but on the New York Post’s use of Orlando Pride player Barbra Banda’s photograph. The Post highlighted Banda in its coverage despite the fact that she withdrew from the Zambian national team in 2022 after failing to meet sex-eligibility requirements. Rapinoe objected to the inclusion of Banda’s image in Eddy’s debate over league policy.
From there, she broadened her critique toward the Save Women’s Sports movement, a coalition that has pressed for policies maintaining women’s sports as a biologically female category. On her podcast, A Touch More, Rapinoe derided the movement’s stated goals.
“Are we really protecting women in sports, or are we doing this just thinly veiled, ‘Oh my god, we’re scared, and we have to protect women in sports?’” she said in a sarcastic tone. She then downplayed concerns within her own league. “We’re fine. We don’t even have any trans players in the NWSL.” Rapinoe characterized the movement’s arguments as “pretty disingenuous.”
Rapinoe also shifted unexpectedly to discuss former U.S. men’s soccer star Landon Donovan, referencing Donovan’s recent interview with The Athletic about his hairpiece. She likened Donovan’s desire to avoid mockery over his appearance to the experiences of gay and transgender people seeking acceptance.
“I just was totally struck by the familiarity of the story,” Rapinoe said, drawing a parallel between Donovan’s personal discomfort and what she called “our own pursuit of gay rights” and “specifically of trans people.” Her comparison rested not on policy or competition, but on feelings of self-presentation. “It f—ing matters how you feel when you look in the mirror,” she added. “It matters how you feel inside your own body.”
Rapinoe argued that the debates around gay and transgender rights often miss what she sees as the core issue: that individuals should be able to “exist in their own skin” in whatever way feels “comfortable.” She stressed that such self-expression “doesn’t have to do with anybody else” and described these feelings as potentially “life-saving.”
Her remarks made no direct acknowledgment of the concerns raised by Eddy or others who have pushed for clearer policies in women’s sports, instead placing the emphasis on personal identity rather than competitive fairness.
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