Megan Rapinoe, welcome to The Daily Social Distancing Show.
Ah. I'm a big fan. I'm very excited to be here.
-This is exciting. -I am a bigger fan
now that I see, uh, what you're wearing.
Because as a-- as a fan of hoodies,
I, uh... I am partial to the hoodie game.
That's-that's a pretty dope hoodie. I like that.
Yeah, it's a good one. Chinatown Market.
It's, you know, nice and colorful. It's comfy.
I'm probably sweating underneath but you can't tell,
-so it's fine. -(laughs)
That's what makes hoodies the best.
No one knows what's happening underneath.
What matters is what you look like. That's all that matters.
Welcome to the show. And before we get into it,
congratulations on your recent engagement.
Thank you. Thank you very much. We're-we're both very excited.
NOAH: You're engaged to somebody now
who has a list of achievements
that could only be matched by yours.
So, on your side, you have won two World Cups,
an Olympic gold medal,
one Ballon d'Or.
Sue, on her side, has won four WNBA titles,
four Olympic gold medals,
and four FIBA World Cups.
Question is,
in the IKEA, like, bookshelf,
who gets to put the trophies where?
Is there, like, an-- Like, is there, like, priority?
Even my mom, when we first got together, she was like,
"I googled Sue, and, like,
you're really not that impressive anymore."
And I was like, "I know! This is crazy!"
Um...
Uh, it's probably, like, percentage.
So, I'll, like, have, you know, my little sliver of, like, 20%
and then, like, Sue's gonna take up the rest
-of the-the shelf. -Oh. I like that.
There's-there's no lie that there has been,
uh, pay disparity between people of different genders
and different races, you know?
In sports, it's really interesting,
because, you know, people always go, like,
"Oh, well, I mean, it's about income and it's about revenue.
"People don't go to the games as much, the women's games.
"That's why they don't get paid as much.
It's not us. It's the fans who are not going."
How do you handle that dispute
and-and how do you try and educate, um,
you know, pe-- onlookers who are just going, like,
"Well, Megan, I don't know
"who's right and who's wrong in this thing.
"I mean, I-I understand what these owners are saying,
but I understand what you are saying."
How-how do you handle that side of the argument
to win people over?
I think, i-in sports,
we often go to, like, what's your salary
and how many people are watching you
or how many people in the stadium,
but it really starts a lot before that.
You have to think of it like a business
that needs to be invested in.
And, you know, if the NBA is getting
a billion dollars' investment, the WNBA is getting,
you know, even $100 million of investment,
like, one business is gonna be more successful.
If you spend more on your marketing person
and your branding person and your--
and your CEO and you have all these people,
like, the business is going to run better.
So by the time we get to the game,
we've been so, uh, underinvested in
or at such a-- at such a disadvantage the whole time,
like, it's shocking that we have as much success as we do
or we're as popular as we do-- uh, as we are.
I think it's like, let's understand the entire picture
before we just go to the very last stage
and be like, "Well, see? No one wants to come."
I also love that your fight has inspired other women.
And-and you talk about this in-in your book
and, you-you know, you share this story--
your aunt told you that she fought for her pay
when she saw you fighting for yours.
What-what was that like? And what--
Like, what did she do in her world that changed everything?
Just to know that, like, she found herself in our fight,
um, yeah, it-it made me really emotional.
It was a really touching moment.
And I think that's the--
probably the most rewarding
and-and the most important part out of our team's fight
with the federation and the lawsuits
and the equal pay fight is, like,
yeah, of course we're doing it on our behalf.
But, still, in the grand scheme, like, we're so privileged.
We still make a lot of money.
We're still, like, superstars of some-some kind.
But for so many women out there--
Like, it's my aunt in-in her job.
It's, you know, a-a domestic worker
or it's a restaurant worker.
It's so difficult to do these things.
Even in our position, it's difficult.
So, to know that we've inspired
or at least made people think, you know,
down to, um, every single level is, like--
that's the-the biggest win I think that we could have.
The title of your newly released memoir is One Life,
which I think is very misleading,
'cause I feel like you've lived many lives.
You share so many inspiring,
heartfelt, and painful experiences from your journey.
You know? Um, I mean, just some of the stories
that stick out for me is, you know,
the moment when you realize that your dad is a Trump supporter
and yourself and your twin sister,
who are both gay, say,
"Hey, this-this breaks our heart,"
and-and you-you have to deal with that
with somebody that you love.
Do you have any tips or tricks
on how to mend the wounds between family members
who have been ripped apart because of politics?
Mm-hmm. I just try to-to keep talking.
I-I still, like, obviously have this relationship.
I love him. And while it's-it's painful, of course,
um, and it was painful to know that, you know,
he would have voted for someone like that
and-and supported him for a lot of years--
um, I don't think he voted for him this year,
which-which I'm thankful for--
um, but it's like...
we can't just not talk to each other.
I mean, it's-it's obviously a tough time
for everyone right now, knowing it's--
that, what, 71 million people or something voted
for someone who's just spewed hatred and chaos and disaster
and we have, you know, approaching 250,000 people dead
from COVID and all of these things,
to-to know that someone supports--
But, like, clearly, there's much more to it
that, um, I think we need to dig into
and have more conversation with,
just as family, as friends, as a nation, as everybody.
I thank you for sharing.
Um, your book truly, truly, truly is something
that I think everybody should read.
They're gonna love you even more.
You're gonna be, um...
You're gonna have even more fans.
And you're probably gonna have to build, like,
an extra trophy cabinet 'cause of all the awards
the book is probably gonna win as well.
So tell Sue to make some space for those extra trophies.
And, uh, congrats on the hoodie.
Thank you so much for joining me, Megan. I appreciate you.
Thank you.