Now Megan Rapinoe Complains That Women’s Sports Aren’t Criticized Enough

After the U.S. Woman’s Soccer team suffered a humiliating defeat to Sweden at their Olympic opener, “woke” soccer star Megan Rapinoe complained about the way women’s sports are criticized.

However, Rapinoe did complain about attacks from the media in the wake of her team’s shocking 3-0 loss to Sweden. The team was picked apart by fans, the media, and others who just don’t like the players.

About all the criticism, she said, “I know what it is. I’m on social media. I’m not a hermit.” 

And, she continued, “I always welcome the criticism,” making a point to add, “For women’s sports, criticism in the media still needs to get better.”

Now, the USNWT’s heading to the Olympic knockout rounds.

Back Story: Megan Rapinoe Leads USWNT Players In Taking A Knee Before Getting Demolished In Olympic Opener

Rapinoe Says Criticism Means ‘People Are Watching’

Rapinoe went on to stress that when she says the criticism needs to be “better,” she does not mean it necessarily needs to be softer or less.

Instead, she wants to see women’s sports criticized in the same way that men’s sports are treated, in her mind at least.

“It says to me that people are watching the games and understand the importance of games and understand different teams,” Rapinoe said. “I don’t mind that stuff. I think everything they said was right. We didn’t play well. Sweden did get the better of us.”

“Being in a position where all of my career we are one of the best teams or the best team in the world, if you can’t take that kind of criticism, then you are probably not going to be here that long,” she said.

She wants them to bring it on and has never shied away from a fight. Rapinoe sees the reactions as a sign of respect.

Related: Megan Rapinoe Rails About ‘Big F*** You’ She Got From U.S. Soccer

‘We Got Our A**es Kicked’

Rapinoe’s frustration with the loss was clear in the interview she gave immediately after the defeat.

“We got our a**es kicked, didn’t we? … I thought we were a little tight, a little nervous, just doing dumb stuff,” she told ESPN. “There’s no time to dwell and think about if Sweden is living in our heads or not. We’ve got another game in three days.”

“Did we expect this result tonight? No,” she added. “It’s frustrating, and it’s frustrating that it’s Sweden. They found a lot of space on us. I don’t even know how many goals we have given up this whole year. I don’t remember the last time we gave up a goal. So to give up three is not great.”

The USWNT did win against the New Zealand squad 6-1 in their second game of the Tokyo Olympics. Now, they’re advancing to the quarterfinals after a 0-0 draw with Australia.

It should be noted that before the start of the opening game, Rapinoe and her teammates took a knee to show their support for Black Lives Matter.

Perhaps if they’d paid a little more attention to their soccer, and a little less attention to their “woke” protests, they would have come out with a victory.