Piers Morgan criticized former U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe for what he described as her “silence” on the ongoing situation involving the Iranian women’s soccer team, calling it “hypocritical” given her outspoken support for transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Morgan’s remarks came in response to a New York Post opinion piece highlighting Rapinoe’s silence, which was posted on X.
“The silence over this from Rapinoe, and so many supposed ‘feminists’ like her, is so telling, damning, and hypocritical,” he wrote in his post. “They’d rather campaign for biological men to wreck women’s sport than campaign for these heroic young sportswomen to help save their lives.”
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The Iranian women’s soccer team came into the spotlight after the players appeared to silently protest their national anthem during the team’s opening match at the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia earlier this month. However, in their following two matches before being eliminated, the team sang and saluted during Iran’s anthem.
A media frenzy ensued, concerned with the players’ and coaches’ well-being after they would inevitably have to return to Iran amid the U.S. and Israeli joint military campaign against the country.
President Donald Trump encouraged the Australian government to grant the team asylum. Seven members of the squad had accepted humanitarian visas allowing them to remain permanently in Australia, but one has since changed her mind.
Rapinoe has not appeared to publicly comment on the situation.
Last month, during an episode of her podcast, “A Touch More,” Rapinoe championed the U.S. women’s ice hockey team while criticizing the men’s squad and Trump for the phone call they had following the team’s gold medal victory in Milan Cortina.
“The United States’ men’s hockey team in their utter moment of glory, childhood dreams come true, one in a lifetime accomplishment, sensational – ruined it for themselves because they allowed themselves to be totally co-opted by a clown. And now, you’re a clown. You look like a clown,” she began, referencing the remark Trump made about having to invite the women’s squad to the State of the Union address.
“Why don’t you respect you more than to have that moment be taken by someone, who for no reason at all, just takes a huge swing and a jab at women who did that exact same thing that you did.”
Rapinoe, an outspoken critic of Trump and his policies, has previously voiced her support for transgender athletes as well. In a 2023 interview with Time magazine, Rapinoe said she would support a trans athlete being rostered on the USWNT, adding that she did not view it as “taking a ‘real’ woman’s place.”
“Absolutely,” she told Time. “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.”
She has also previously criticized the Save Women’s Sports movement.
Because of her previous outspoken remarks, Rapinoe has faced overwhelming pushback on social media.
In her latest podcast episode, which aired Thursday, Rapinoe did not appear to publicly comment on the Iranian women’s soccer team. She did speak about the ongoing CBA negations in the WNBA, which she likened to the “equal pay fight” the U.S. women’s soccer team advocated for, which resulted in a landmark agreement in 2022.
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