>>> U.S. Soccer legend Megan
rapinoe has announced that she
will retire.
After 17 years on team usa, she
will hang up her cleats at the
end of the season after this
year's women's world cup which
is set to begin next week.
She auns need yesterday and she
feels grateful to end her career
on her own terms.
>> I could have just like never
imagined where this beautiful
game would have taken me.
Um, I feel so honored to be able
to have represented this country
and this federation for so many
years.
Um, it's truly been the greatest
thing that I've ever done.
And I feel like as excited to
play the rest of my career as I
do to retire and to step away
from this beautiful game.
>> Now Megan has been a
powerhouse figure both off and
on the field.
Rapino is a three time olympian
and a two time women's world cup
champion and has become an
outspoken advocate for lgbtq
rights and equal pay and black
lives matter.
Last year she became the first
soccer player to ever received
the presidential medal of
freedom.
And sports analyst and columnist
for usa today, Christine Brennan
joins us now.
A little bit of a bittersweet
moment.
Megan said she's been on
borrowed time.
She's 38.
And they still have a world cup
ahead of her this summer.
That having been said, were you
surprised at all by this
announcement.
>> I was a little surprised.
Timing at first was surprising,
bianna.
But when you think about it, it
is a perfect segue into this
world cup that is going to be so
important for the U.S. And for
women around the world and
anyone who cheers for women
athletes and female athletes.
And so, in many ways, then it
makes sense.
Because she's setting the stage
for the story line of the world
cup which is one of the greatest
soccer players in U.S. History
and one of the greatest soccer
players in the history of sock
worldwide, male or female, Megan
rapinoe, this is her last dance.
And her swan song and victory
tour.
So I think it is absolutely
perfect.
She introduced herself to so
many of us at the 2011 world cup
with what I believe it the
greatest pass in history from
her foot all the way across the
field, yards and yards, I mean
literally one of the longest
passed ever to the for head of
Abby come back that tied against
Brazil and allowed the U.S. To
win.
Remacable, if anyone hasn't seen
it, look it up.
And from that moment up, she's
been a star and just an
absolutely incredibly exciting
on the field to play and off the
field to play.
>> Let's look at some of the
stats, Christine.
So far, she started in 199 games
for the U.S.
Made 63 goals.
Three time olympian, winning
gold in 2012.
Bronze in 2021.
She also has two world cup
championship trophies.
2015 and 2019 for those.
One FIFA women's play of the
year in 2019.
And on and on and on.
But it is also off the field as
we've alluded to that she has
accomplished so much.
List off those greatest
accomplishments.
I mean, the legacy in that
respect could continue even
after she's retired from the
game.
>> We have not seen the last of
Megan rapinoe.
Coy see her as someone speaking
out on shows like yours, writing
books, doing documentaries and
doing everything possible to
continue to highlight the issues
that she thinks are so
important, that millions of
Americans and people around the
world think are so important.
You ask what they are.
Equal pay, certainly comes to
mind first.
Way she was going to depositions
and fighting for equal pay for
the women's soccer team and
wildly successful and they got
that from the men from U.S.
Soccer.
But she was spending years,
years fighting tor that.
Even as she was then at the top
of her game on the field.
Extraordinary use of hadar time.
Both off and on the field.
And then as you mentioned, lgbtq
issues and then in 2019 when she
led them to the cup, wearing
red, white and blue and Donald
Trump was attacking her and she
was fending him off while also
becoming not only the leading
goal scorer of that world cup
but also the most valuable
player at that world cup.
I don't know that I've seen an
athlete do that much off the
field and especially when it is
the president of the united