Megan Rapinoe Is Furious With Legendary Comedian Dave Chappelle
THE SPUN ^ | JUL 11, 2023 | Andrew Holleran
Posted on 7/12/2023, 2:13:25 PM by nickcarraway
JUNE 11: Megan Rapinoe sings to her partner Sue Bird during Bird's jersey retirement ceremony after the game between the Seattle Storm and the Washington Mystics at Climate Pledge Arena on June 11, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Legendary United States women's soccer player Megan Rapinoe believes comedian Dave Chappelle is partially to blame for violence against transgender people.
Chappelle has joked about the transgender community in the past. Rapinoe believes this has led to dangerous times.
“I don’t want to mince words about it. Dave Chappelle making jokes about trans people directly leads to violence, whether it’s verbal or otherwise, against trans people. When Martina or Sage or whoever are talking about this, people aren’t hearing it just in the context of elite sports. They’re saying, ‘The rest of my life, this is how I’m going to treat trans people,'” Rapinoe told TIME.
Rapinoe also mentioned ESPN host Sage Steele and former tennis star Martina Navratilova.
The soon-to-be-retired U.S. soccer star has been very vocal about her support for the transgender community.
“Absolutely ‘You’re taking a ‘real’ woman’s place,’ that’s the part of the argument that’s still extremely transphobic. I see trans women as real women. What you’re saying automatically in the argument—you’re sort of telling on yourself already—is you don’t believe these people are women. Therefore, they’re taking the other spot. I don’t feel that way,” Rapinoe told TIME when asked if she would support a transgender teammate.
Rapinoe and the U.S. women's national team are currently preparing for the 2023 World Cup,
