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An interview with Megan Rapinoe

Although lesbian soccer fans have had an idea Megan Rapinoe played for our team since she was part of the WPS, the 27-year-old Olympian had yet to say so in public until a few weeks ago. She talked with Out magazine about being not only gay, but out and proud, which has only given the towheaded mid-fielder more of a spotlight leading up to the 2012 Olympic Games.

We talked with Megan yesterday while she was on a train ride from Washington, D.C. up to Newark, New Jersey where she was meeting up with her team to fly to London.

AfterEllen.com: Happy birthday!

Megan Rapinoe: Oh, thank you!

AE: How was your birthday?

MR:It was good – just some family stuff. Pretty uneventful! Kind of nice. Just chilled out.

AE: You are a twin – did you spend time with your sister – Rachael, right?

MR: Yeah, I am a twin. I didn’t because she’s living down in Texas right now so we didn’t get to spend our birthdays together, unfortunately.

AE: It’s been a big week, right? It’s been a big gay week!

MR: It has. It’s been a big gay week. Big gay Monday!

AE: You, Anderson Cooper, Frank Ocean –

MR: Frank Ocean! Everyone came out the same week.

AE: You said in your OUT interview that you’ve kind of always been out – how did that interview come about?

MR: I’ve been out to friends and family and teammates and anybody, if I hadn’t really told them, knew that I was gay. It’s different being out publicly then just out in your personal life. I guess since we live in our lives in the public eye a little bit and the increased attention on our team and everybody’s, I guess, personal attention has increased – I don’t know, I just felt like I was leaving something out and omitting something and not being 100 percent truthful. Even though I never lied about anything. The world is sort of presumably straight, so I think I wasn’t wanting to be assumed [to be straight] or have people believe that. I’m obviously very proud of who I am. I couldn’t be happier with who I am. It was something that was important to me.

AE: So did you reach out to them?

MR: It’s been almost a year now. They reached out to me, I believe, last year after the World Cup and wanted to do something in the Out 100 issue but it didn’t work out, our schedules, at the time I was gone they were doing it. But it kind of came to be in the last few months that it worked out for both parties.

AE: Obviously with going to the Olympics there’s so much attention on you and your team. Basically you have a coach, Pia, who is out, correct?

MR: I believe so, yeah.

AE: Was there encouragement from other people or did this just come from within?

MR: I mean, I think it came from me. Obviously when I started telling people, they were encouraging and supportive of me. I was talking to friends and we mulled it over a little bit and there didn’t seem to be any downside at all. I think all of the reactions I’ve gotten have been totally supportive and completely positive.

AE: After the World Cup, which was huge, tons of new soccer fans were introduced to you and now you’re household names. What’s it like to suddenly have a bunch of people recognize you and suddenly rooting for you? Have you felt the difference?

MR: Yeah, we’ve felt a huge difference, I think. In the beginning, to be honest, it was pretty strange. I definitely hadn’t had that and I think the team as a whole hasn’t had that kind of interest that we’ve had after the World Cup. I mean, we didn’t even win and some people think that we won! They still think that we won! I think a kind of perfect storm emerged for us to be in the media spotlight and it really hadn’t died down that much. If anything I’d say it has gotten bigger. Our games are selling out and if it’s not sold out, very close to it, the buzz around the team has just been incredible. We’re much more used to it now. I think in the beginning it was very strange. Cool, obviously, an amazing feeling. But it was very different.

AE: Was that another push for you? Like “I’ve got the spotlight now – what can I do with it?”

MR: Not so much – I don’t think it wasn’t really for any premise or popularity gain or anything. I can see how it can be construed as that. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a bit. It’s a positive thing we’re in the spotlight and have a lot of media attention on us and can make a big impact. I think it’s good a lot of people are going to know.

AE: Are you more nervous now with more attention on you, as far as playing the game? I imagine that going to the Olympics and having all this pressure –

MR: Well I get different questions and people want to talk about it a little bit more. Thus far it hasn’t been that much more pressure. Our team as a whole just has so much pressure on us already. As long as I’ve been on this team, there’s been pressure to win every single game. Not just the majority of games – to win every game. I think we come into this knowing that so I don’t feel like there’s much added pressure.

AE: Just more eyes?

MR: Definitely more eyes, for sure. But luckily we have Hope Solo – she takes most of the eyes. She takes most of the attention, so we can kind of go about our business – unfortunately for her!

AE: What do you do to prepare for a game? You said before in one of your interviews, you always knew you were going to be doing soccer for a living. How did you know you had what it took and how did you prepare yourself for getting here?

MR: Oh man. It was always a dream, of course. I love the Olympics. I always have. I think maybe midway through high school and definitely in college I kind of started realizing that soccer could be a job for me – and a way to make a living and I could keep playing. It was kind of just a sort of of a snowball evolution where I just kind of kept going with it. I kind of kept going with it – high school, college, and went to college on a soccer scholarship and then after college WPS was around, and it kept going and then the national team. It was just sort of a natural progression. Now I can’t believe where it’s led me. I’m on a train right now heading to the Olympics. It’s unbelievable.

AE: You mention college: Was that the Portland Pilots – University of Portland? That was a Catholic school, right?

MR: It is.

AE: Are you a religious person?

MR: No. [Laughs]

AE: Were you out in college?

MR: Yeah, I was! I think it’s interesting – it is a small, private Catholic predominately white school, but it’s in Portland. You know, Portland’s very diverse and has all walks of life and of all fibers. I probably wouldn’t have chosen to go there if I was just going for school – I probably wouldn’t have been able to afford it, to be honest. It’s a little expensive. You know I went there for soccer. I kind of thought – there were a lot of different kinds of people there because of the athletics program because we were in need of diversity. So yeah I was out in college and never had any problems with it at all. I felt accepted by coaches and teammates; everybody, really. I never experienced any sort of negative feelings. I haven’t at all, really. I’m very lucky to have support since day one.

AE: So you were on the winning team there in 2005. In 2004, Referendum 36 was passed as Oregon state law that said marriage was between a man in a woman. I was wondering what your feelings were, in the wake of that. You were playing for a team, although they were supportive you were still playing in a state that voted against your rights. How did you feel about that?

MR: To be honest, at the time I don’t think I knew that. I don’t think I knew that about Portland or Oregon in general. Even to this day – I live in California, call California home and obviously same-sex marriage isn’t legal there yet so it is hard. There’s only a few states that do accept it and that’s wildly frustrating and a bit ridiculous for the times we’re in now. I think eventually it will change and we’re not too far off.

AE: It wasn’t a hot topic for me until 2008 with Prop. 8. I never really thought about it.

MR: You just can’t really forsake those areas. It’s important, obviously, have a presence in those areas and hopefully make enough of an impact to change things.

AE: How do you feel about celebrities that are still in the closet?

MR: It is a difficult question because I don’t feel like I have the right to say “You should do this” or “You should come out.” But I do think that it has a very big impact. Look at someone like Anderson Cooper. I think people knew for a long time that he was [gay] but he has a positive impact. He’s a person of interest and whether they want to have a private life or not, they made the choice not to by being in the position that they are. I do feel like it’s important and I think that eventually it’ll help a lot if people come out. But you can’t tell people what to do with their own life, I guess.

AE: Do you think “I’m going to represent a country I don’t have equal rights in?” You’re arguably one of the best soccer players in the world and you’re going to represent the United States where you don’t have the same rights.

MR: Yeah, of course I think about that. Being this is the United States and not having the same rights as everyone else, of course it’s frustrating. I try to think positive and see it’s changing and I think there are being strides made and I think we’ll see that barrier fall very soon.

AE: But just having you go and represent us at the same time is so huge. It’s a huge impact.

MR: Yeah, hopefully! I’d like to make a positive impact. I definitely want it to.

AE: I wonder if you feel like you have a responsibility to have your other teammates or family members come out.

MR: Not like a responsibility, but I think, I guess, if it makes it a little bit easier for other people, that’s good. I think in women’s sports it’s obviously much easier, I think that’s why there’s so many gay women in sports, even if a lot of people aren’t out. The positive impact and positive reaction I’ve had in real life isn’t having a massive impact on your daily life where I think in male sports it’s different. I hope this make it easier for people, if they want to, to come out.

AE: How is it different in male sports?

MR: I think in male sports, not only is there not really any out gay athletes – not even in the locker room. I think in female sports, the locker room it’s accepted and everybody knows. In male sports, you can’t even come out in the locker room.

AE: I think in US Weekly you said “As far as earning a living as a soccer player, female athletes in the United States, it’s easier but worldwide it’s harder.” Do you have a lot friends on other teams and can you give us some insight into that?

MR: Yeah I think we’re really well taken care of by our federation. We’re always fighting for equality, fighting for more but I think on the whole, we’re able to not have separate jobs and make a good living and get more endorsements and appearances and stuff and I don’t think it’s that way all over the place. We’re lucky and we have every great resource at our disposal to be successful and to do do this as a living. So I’m very fortunate for that.

AE: And Nike is your major sponsor and they just held their first ever homophobia in sports summit in Portland a few weeks ago. So how important is it to you to represent a company that also represents that part of who you are? Do you ever feel like your personal life is part of professional life? Or are you trying to keep those things separate?

MR: Yeah, it is important. I think it’s awesome that Nike’s doing that. What company in the world is more recognizable than Nike? I think it’s huge and really cool they’re taking that stance. I feel like our public lives and our soccer lives and our private lives are all kind of mixed in, a little bit, together. People want to know our personalities and want to know what we’re like off the field. It’s not like we’re selling arbitrary products – it’s ourselves that we’re selling and ourselves that we’re representing so I do feel like it’s all mish-mashed up in one. Which is good, I think.

AE: Was your girlfriend out in the public? Was it kind of a group decision? Because you coming out and talking about having a girlfriend, if she wasn’t out already, she’s out now!

MR: That’s kind of how it went! No, she wasn’t. Yeah, she is now. I don’t think it was something she was looking to do. I guess I’m responsible for that but we definitely talked about it and she knew it would have an affect on her in some way but it wasn’t something she was looking to do but I think she’s really proud of me and incredibly supportive through all this.

AE: That’s great – do you guys even get to see each other? You live pretty different schedules!

MR: Yeah we do. She’s from Australia so we don’t see each other a lot but we make it work. Distance is only a temporary thing. We make it work. I think we kind of understand, I guess, this is only temporary. She’s worth the wait!

AE: Do you have a coming out story?

MR: It wasn’t until college. I didn’t know I was gay until college. Yeah, I just kind of told my roommates. Once you come out, you keep coming out. It was kind of like that for the whole family. They’ve been really supportive. I think they just love me. I think of course it took them a little time to get used to it. I was in college, so they’re like “You lived your whole life straight and now you’re gay,” but I think they’re used to it and see that I’m really happy and they love and support me.

AE: What do you do for fun when you’re not playing soccer? What are your interests?

MR: I like live music. I like to go to the beach.

AE: What are your favorite bands?

MR: Love Adele. Love Florence and the Machine. Love The Civil Wars. Missy Higgins. Gotta throw the popular pop songs in there every now and then! I love Florence. She’s just amazing.

AE: So you like live music, you like the beach – you like to relax.

MR: I like to relax. Love coffee. Love beer and wine – can’t deny that.

AE: Who were your heroes growing up?

MR: I’m a huge sports fan, probably loved it too much. So I loved Michael Jordan growing up. I was a huge Bulls fan. My dad’s from Chicago so I was a huge Michael Jordan fan. I had posters and the lifesize cut-outs.

AE: You used to play in Chicago and now you’re playing for the Seattle Sounders. Are you happy to be back playing for a Pacific Northwest team?

MR: I love Chicago. I had the best experience living there, it was so much fun. What an incredible city – there’s everything to do there. Great food, good music scene, the clubs – everything. It’s an incredible city. I didn’t do a winter in Chicago and I don’t think I want to, but I just loved living there April until August.

AE: What are you doing with your hair this summer?

MR: I’m still blonde. Probably the same – it’ll be short and noticeable on the field. My mom’s so happy because she can see it very easily on the field. She can pick me out very easily.

AE: Thanks so much Megan. We are rooting for you!

Tune into NBC on July 25 at 12 p.m. to see Megan and her teammates take on France.

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