Clay Travis: “I was at the U.S. women winning the World Cup in 2015 with all of my kids. We were in the crowd in Vancouver, Canada. It was an amazing pro-America crowd. The U.S women's soccer team in 2015 was one of the most beloved teams in American sports history. Everybody loved those girls. What happened from 2015 to 2023 when a huge percentage of the American public doesn't actually support or root for the American women? I think, unfortunately, they got woke and Megan Rapinoe led them off the cliff. When I say ‘led them off the cliff’, I mean she went from having a team that everybody loved-- so you remember this, in 2019, they refused a trip to the White House to meet with Donald Trump and I believe many Americans never got over that. Because if you represent your U.S. national team and you get the opportunity to go meet the President to celebrate your 2019 win, I think everybody felt like that's something the American team should do. You're representing the United States of America. So when you actually analyze this, I think what happened is the team never played up to its talent. They had a lot of individuals who were focused on their own world views and unfortunately using soccer as a political platform, as opposed to a platform for which it was designed-- which is to win a championship. The U.S women were favored to win and they had the worst performance in U.S women's World Cup history. They were lucky to even advance to the knockout stage. What happened? I think the woke nature of their political stance became toxic to the overall brand of the team, they played as ‘individuals’, and I think Megan Rapinoe led them into a disaster. Rapinoe was asked afterwards what she was ‘most proud of’ in her career, she said equal pay. I think this is an important lesson-- first of all, she didn't say she was proud of something they did on the field, she was proud of something they did OFF the field. But here's the deal -- U.S women receive a massive amount of pay because of United States exceptionalism. The reason why our women's soccer team is really good is because we actually let women have full human rights. You can pick almost every winner in women's soccer solely by analyzing which team has more basic human rights. Because if you can't wear shorts, or go watch a soccer match, or drive a car, or own property, or go get an education, it's unlikely you're going to be very good at soccer either because being good at sports is a luxury. It is a luxury that capitalism provides, particularly as it pertains to women. Men by and large around the world, if they are supremely talented they are able to develop their full talents. The reason why the U.S. women didn't get paid as much as the U.S. men was not because America was sexist, it was because the FIFA World Cup produces far more money for men than it does for women. In fact, women get a higher share of the revenue produced by the FIFA World Cup than men do, it's just a fraction as much because the vast majority of people around the world care way more about men's than women's athletics. Imagine the impact if Megan Rapinoe had stood on the international stage and said ‘America's imperfect but it's the best country in the history of the world and our team is a testament to America's exceptionalism. The reason why we are excellent is because we have been able to obtain full educations, and because we've been able to play soccer at a high level starting at the age of five, and because women have more basic human rights in America than they do in most of the countries around the world.’ Particularly for Megan Rapinoe, this would have been compelling because many nations actually criminalize her being a lesbian. Some nations actually still punish with death the fact that someone is a lesbian. Megan Rapinoe is incredibly fortunate. She is able to become a multi-millionaire because of American exceptionalism. She is able to live her full and free life as a lesbian woman because of the human rights that America provides to all men, women, White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, gay or straight. That doesn't mean that America is perfect but it does mean that if the rest of the world followed America's lead not only would women have more basic rights around the world but they probably as a result would also be better at soccer. That's not a message that was shared by the U.S women's team. If it had been I think the women would have been just as popular in 2023 as they were in 2015, and more significantly, on the field I think they would have been far more successful. It's now time as the Megan Rapinoes of the world step off the stage for the U.S Women's Soccer team to make a choice. Do we want to be champions, or do we want to be political activists? Because the evidence supports that you can't do both at a high level, and if you doubt me just look at the results from the U.S women's team where they performed the worst in the history of [our] women. The women were awful they performed and failed at the highest level in Women's World Cup history. They should be ridiculed based on how cocky, arrogant, and condescending they were to the rest of America. Will they be treated to that or will they be protected by left-wing media and left-wing politicians who try to argue ‘IT’S SEXIST OR HOMOPHOBIC TO ATTACK THESE WOMEN!’ I think it's actually sexist and homophobic NOT to attack these women because we should be holding, given what they're paid and given the expectations, these women to the same standard that we hold highly paid, highly trained, highly compensated, and highly cocky American male athletes. You want to be paid and treated with equality, well then you better be prepared to handle the slings and arrows of condemnation when you perform at a really poor level.” (Full Segment Above)
Watch Clay Travis of ‘Outkick the Coverage’ explain his theory on why he believes the U.S. Women’s Soccer team became so polarizing the last few years, and why a large portion of America was seemingly ecstatic that they just posted their worst Women’s World Cup finish in American history.
Check out the segment above as Travis details how Megan Rapinoe led U.S. Women’s Soccer ‘off a cliff’ by turning the USWNT into a divisive political organization that cares more about advancing their own personal brands than the sport they're competing in.
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