Since her retirement from pro soccer, the nation has been spared much of the media’s breathless coverage of Megan Rapinoe’s constant far-left rhetoric.
But that doesn’t mean she’s been silent as a debate rages over whether biological males should be allowed to compete with girls and women.
After WNBA star Sophie Cunningham voiced her support for protecting female athletes and posed for a photo with swimmer-turned-activist Riley Gaines, Rapinoe apparently couldn’t contain her resentment.
As Fox News reported:
“Sophie has claimed both to love trans people and support Title IX. And this is where I think the accountability with having a major platform is extremely important.”
Rapinoe then turned her attention to Gaines.
“Riley Gaines has made it her life’s mission to exclude trans people from public life,” Rapinoe claimed.
“She’s directly tied to the Heritage Foundation, the authors of Project 2025 and now 2026, who have now published a report that suggests that they want to repeal Title IX, the very piece of legislation that allowed athletes like Sophie and myself to compete in sports.”
What Rapinoe conveniently forgets, or deliberately omits, is that Gaines was in the water, competing head-to-head against a MAN (Will “Lia” Thomas) at the 2022 NCAA Championships.
Activists like Rapinoe cheered for Will Thomas’ inclusion in the pool and the women’s locker room.
It’s classic Rapinoe spin. Wipe away Gaines’ actual experience in the pool, frame her as a political operative, and ignore the real damage inflicted on female sports. Rapinoe wants fans to pretend Gaines’s actual experience doesn’t exist while dragging Cunningham through the mud over a simple picture. Facts take a backseat in Rapinoe’s world. It’s not about what happened in the pool or with other female athletes who’ve competed against men and echoed Gaines’ sentiments.
“You can hear it even in the language being used that the root of trans exclusion is to protect young girls from men,” Rapinoe said. “To be clear, I would love to have that conversation and it’s much needed in this country. But it frames the conversation as if we’re protecting young girls from men being in WNBA locker rooms, not happening. It villainizes trans girls as if they’re somehow magically older than their peers. Or are men, when in reality, they are also young girls. These laws are excluding kids. Kids from playing youth sports.”
She dismissed concerns at elite levels, claiming, “If we want to have a conversation around elite sports, there are effective policies that have been in place for many years that no one noticed because they worked.”
ADVERTISEMENTShe finished her rant by scoffing at anyone who dares disagree. “So, if anybody is taking these talking points as legit or believing they’re protecting young girls in sports? I just have to ask, are you serious?”
Yes, people are serious.
Parents, female athletes and fans are serious about protecting single-sex sports, the very purpose Title IX was created to guarantee.
Rapinoe’s remarks fueled some social media backlash:
It’s hard to believe a professional female athlete can’t grasp why men shouldn’t compete in women’s leagues. Common sense should win out here, but that wouldn’t generate the clicks and attention Megan seems to crave.
— Mike Smith (@mksmith1013) August 7, 2026
Megan Rapinoe slanders Sophie Cunningham and Riley Gaines over their protection of women's sports then claims trans women "in reality" were also "young girls." pic.twitter.com/Okulszsd8n
— Libby Emmons (@libbyemmons) August 7, 2026
It was not Riley's "Life's mission". Riley had to compete against a 6'4" man in NCAA women's swimming. Rapinoe never had to compete against men in anything. Rapinoe is clueless.
— Thomas Lacerte (@Tiotom77Lacerte) August 7, 2026
Yahoo Sports added these details:
Following her high-profile remarks in an ESPN profile, where she said she wanted to “protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men,” Cunningham appeared to welcome the spotlight that followed.
Speaking in an interview shortly after those comments were published, Cunningham doubled down on her stance, describing her remarks as “common sense.”
“I said what I said. I think it’s kind of common sense,” Cunningham said, standing by her remarks. “And I think I’ll always believe in that. I think it’s really important to protect children, and that’s little girls who are also involved in that category. I stand on what I said.”
ADVERTISEMENTCunningham later reaffirmed that message with an Instagram post showing herself flipping her hair alongside the caption “I said what I said.”
She also posed for a photo with anti-trans activist Riley Gaines, who attended the team’s recent matchup against the Minnesota Lynx.
During the latest episode of her “Why Are You Like This?” podcast, Rapinoe gave her open and honest thoughts on the entire situation involving Cunningham, as she typically does for controversies of this nature. “I want to address the controversy that is happening right now around trans women in sports. As you know, I’ve talked about this a lot and will continue to keep talking about this,” Rapinoe said on her podcast.
While Rapinoe openly conceded that she didn’t know Cunningham personally, she said that she learned everything she needed to about her motivations after Cunningham posed for a picture with noted anti-trans activist Riley Gaines.
“I don’t know Sophie, so I can only project what I see about her beliefs based on her actions, but seeing a picture of her with Riley Gaines after the game has told me everything I need to know about what’s happening,” Rapinoe said.
Here’s some additional commentary:
Megan Rapinoe calls out Sophie Cunningham and valiantly slaws a straw man. pic.twitter.com/H9HCKRkR0k
— Amy E. Sousa, MA Depth Psychology (@KnownHeretic) August 7, 2026
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