The issue of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports is still being discussed. Two of the biggest names in women’s soccer have come under fire from Riley Gaines, an NCAA swimmer who has long opposed the participation of trans athletes in sports, for what she has called their “disingenuous” stance on the matter.

Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan have argued for the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports on various occasions. One of the prominent individuals who vocally supported and signed a letter to US lawmakers in April 2023 that sought to oppose the “Protection of Girls and Women in Sports act” was Rapinoe, who is well-known for her activism in a variety of spheres of sport and society.

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A recipient of federal funds who operates, sponsors, or facilitates athletic programs or activities is prohibited from allowing a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is intended for women or girls, as the bill’s name implies.

Rapinoe garnered attention in June 2022 for denying the notion that trans women are predominating in women’s sports, unfairly upsetting the balance of competition.

“Show me evidence that trans women are taking everyone’s scholarships, are dominating in every sport, are winning every title. I’m sorry, it’s just not happening. So, we need to start with inclusion, period. And as things arise, I have confidence that we can figure it out. But we can’t start at the opposite. That is cruel. And frankly, it’s disgusting,” Rapinoe said.

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At the SheBelieves Cup in February of this year, USWNT teammate Morgan argued that transgender children should be permitted to compete as the gender they identify. The striker declared that she was resolved to “stand up for what’s right”.

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Just a few weeks before they begin their World Cup campaign in Australia and New Zealand, Gaines, a fierce supporter of women’s rights, vehemently disagrees with their viewpoints and spoke out strongly against them.