On the retirement of Megan Rapinoe

Megan Rapinoe, prominent US women’s football player, widely regarded as the best woman footballer ever, has announced her retirement at 38.

With her striking flash of short purple (or green) hair she had a dynamic presence on the field. She was a member of the US team which won the 2012 Olympics in London, and she played in the winning US team at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015 and 2019. She is one of the very few women (or men) to have ever scored twice direct from corner kicks.

Off the field, Rapinoe was often in the limelight as a strong and vocal advocate of lesbian and trans rights and women’s rights in general and earned a certain notoriety in the USA for stating her distinct lack of inclination to meet Donald Trump in the White House.

She was sometimes criticised for being gobby and having an opinion about everything and never being shy of expressing it. And sometimes she was, to use the American term, "in your face". So what?

Shrinking violets rarely change anything. The recent controversies surrounding the disgraceful treatment of women footballers in Spain demonstrates that there is still some way to go in this fight.