If there’s anyone who knows what it is like to be in the middle of a political firestorm while competing for the United States internationally, it’s former USA soccer star Megan Rapinoe.
Rapinoe has always been outspoken as an athlete and has often come under fire from conservative critics. After winning the 2019 Women’s World Cup, Rapinoe got into it with President Donald Trump personally by very directly rejecting any advance or invite from the White House. Rapinoe said “I don’t think that we want that to be co-opted or corrupted by this administration.”
While Rapinoe’s political, social, and cultural views are about as far away on the other side of the spectrum as you can get from the Trump and MAGA movement, she feels the same way about the USA hockey team that finds themselves in a similar storm for political reasons. They allowed themselves to be co-opted by Donald Trump and company.
On her A Touch More podcast with partner Sue Bird, Rapinoe addressed the controversy and brought up her experience from the 2019 World Cup triumph, relating it to what we’ve seen the past week with USA hockey.
Megan Rapinoe: Trump’s using you to do something else, he’s always going to co-opt your moment. We had this opportunity after 2019. Obviously, I said that we’re not going to the White House. Trump was trying to backchannel and invite us and we were like, no. Let’s not pretend… pic.twitter.com/rTNOXJuy2l
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) February 26, 2026
“He’s using you to do something else, which isn’t just celebrating your moment,” Rapinoe said. “He’s always going to co-opt. We had this opportunity after 2019. Obviously I said, famously, didn’t know it was on the record but it was, that we’re not going to the White House and we’re not even going to be invited. The President was trying to back-channel and invite us. And we were like, no, because we know, we’re not going to be naive in this moment, we know that moment is going to be co-opted. Let’s not pretend like we don’t know who this person is.”
“I think for me, I left this whole interaction and this kerfuffle if you will, yes, like why are you laughing at your friends. But also, why don’t you respect you enough to not be used in this moment for this unique achievement that is truly one of the greatest achievements in life, I think, because it’s a childhood fairytale. And now this is what people think about your moment. And that sucks,” she added.
While no one should begrudge a formal trip to the White House or State of the Union appearance after the USA men’s hockey team won their first gold medal since the 1980 Miracle on Ice, it has been clouded by the co-opting of the Trump administration to make it about themselves. It’s everything from Kash Patel inexplicably partying in the locker room as if he scored the game-winning overtime goal to Trump disrespecting the women’s hockey team and treating them like second-class citizens to doctored AI videos of Brady Tkachuk, who plays in Ottawa, insulting Canadians.
Nothing with this White House is apolitical, especially when it comes to their insistence on being involved in sports, so it’s not a surprise that the celebratory mood around the victory rapidly fell into exhausting partisan bickering once they got involved.
Rapinoe added that the situation could have all been different if USA hockey hadn’t let Kash Patel in the locker room in the first place, which sent the whole situation spiraling out of control. That was reportedly thanks to USA hockey executive Bill Guerin, who is friends with Patel and invited him in to share in Team USA’s sacred moment.
For that, Megan Rapinoe doesn’t blame the players who got swept up in the moment. But she wishes that the USA hockey staff could have read the room a bit better than allow for that to happen.
Megan Rapinoe: I know what happens in those locker rooms. People get brought in, you have no say. To have the President on the phone, you get yourself wrapped in this moment. For me, the choice point is like, I would’ve never as a captain or a leader on my team, that would’ve… pic.twitter.com/8ay3t57TJW
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) February 26, 2026
“I can’t believe how people have such a lack of self-preservation. But if you don’t think you’re in threat, then you’re not going to preserve. So they obviously didn’t think that having Kash Patel or having Trump on the phone was a threat. So they’re cool with it. But that’s why you don’t put yourself in this position. Because to have the Presisdent of the Untied States on the phone, and he’s like ‘hur hur hur hur’ it’s hard not to be like ‘hur hur hur hur.’ You get yourselves wrapped in this moment. For me, the choice point is, I would have never as a captain or a leader on my team, I think you can say the same, I think that would’ve been clear to our staffs and to the larger organization and support staff – those people would never be allowed in our locker room,” Rapinoe said.
No matter what side of the political aisle you may be on, if any, maybe we can all agree that next time Team USA wins a huge international trophy that we don’t need the FBI Director pounding brewskis in the locker room. And then maybe all of this would not have happened.
About Matt Yoder