RACIAL JUSTICE: In 2019, she expressed how the current sanctions for racism are not tough enough. She pointed to the incident in Bulgaria when athletes were fined £65,000 for racist abuse of English players in the Euro 2020 qualifiers. She said to BBC, “If there’s ever an instance of racism, if every single player on the field is not outraged then to me, they are part of the problem.” She was also an early supporter of Black Lives Matter, and took the knee during the national anthem in 2016.

LGBTQ+ RIGHTS: Rapinoe came out publicly in 2012, and she said that by coming out she wanted to normalize being gay in society. She advocates for the LGBTQ+ community and works with the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN). In addition, she wrote an opinion piece for Washington Post about the bill banning trans kids from sports. She believes that, “Discrimination hurts everyone,” and that this bill further stigmatizes trans people. In 2022 she stated to TIME that, “’I’m 100 per cent supportive of trans inclusion.” In 2013, she became an ambassador for Athlete Ally, a nonprofit organization that focuses on ending homophobia and transphobia in sports.

EQUAL PAY: Rapinoe fights for equality for women and equal pay. She and many of her national soccer teammates filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation over unequal paying in comparison to the men’s team. They filed a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about the Federation. In addition, she testified before Congress about the gender pay gap in the United States. In September 2017, Rapinoe and other teammates signed up for the “Common Goal” campaign created by Juan Mata of Manchester United. The campaign allows players to donate 1% of their individual wages to support other soccer-related charities.