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Matt <
trumptard33@gmail.com> wrote in
news:sqq1ru$8b8$
1@news.dns-netz.com:
Deer Megan, you overrated lesbian cunt, you can never go home. In
your case you can tho, in a pine box.
U.S. soccer legend Megan Rapinoe announced on Saturday that she will
retire following the FIFA Women’s World Cup and after the end of the
NWSL season. Rapinoe is one of the most decorated athletes in American
soccer history, with two World Cup titles, an Olympic gold medal and a
Ballon d’Or to her name.
She also became a star off the field for her vocal support of
progressive causes like LGBTQ rights and racial and gender equality. In
2022, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe
Biden.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, you’d be hard pressed to find a more
popular athlete. But about three hours up Interstate 5, in Rapinoe’s
hometown of Redding, California, the soccer sensation’s reputation is
much more complicated.
“We’re proud our small town girl did great but keep your mouth shut. I
respect your opinion. Just don’t put it in my face,” said retired
Redding firefighter Tony Roberts to the San Jose Mercury News.
Karen Margrave, a Redding realtor, took it one step further after
Rapinoe said she wouldn’t go to the Donald Trump White House in 2019.
“She is a narcissist and finds it necessary to draw attention to herself
rather than stand with her country and team,” wrote Margrave on
Facebook, according to the Record Searchlight.
Rapinoe was born and raised in Redding and went to Foothill High School in nearby Palo Cedro. The politics Rapinoe is now known for are far from in
line with the area where she grew up.
Shasta County, where Redding is located, has a history of supporting one
of Rapinoe’s biggest critics. Over 65% of voters in Shasta County
supported Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. Even Jim Rapinoe, Megan’s father, admitted to voting for Trump to the Mercury News.
In 2022, hardline conservatives gained a majority on the Shasta County
Board of Supervisors. In October of that year, The New York Times dubbed
the county “MAGA-led.”
In Redding, Bethel Church, a controversial megachurch, likely has more political sway than Rapinoe. Bethel and Rapinoe would seem diametrically opposed, given Rapinoe’s proud standing as a lesbian athlete and Bethel’s history of promoting services that encourage people to change their
sexuality. But Bethel publicly praised Rapinoe after the United State’s
2019 World Cup victory, saying “We…join in applauding our hometown’s
talented athlete” in a statement to the Daily Beast.
It’s not the only example of Redding residents cheering Rapinoe in spite
of their political differences.
“Just because you don’t agree with people in their entirety, doesn’t
discount the good that they do. I think how we are going to get along as a nation is if we can more remember the human experience and get away from
the politics of people,” said Naomi Yamamoto, the 2019 Redding Citizen of
the Year, to the Record Searchlight.
For her part, Rapinoe has never distanced herself from her Northern
California hometown.
"I feel like Redding is kind of this underdog, hard-working, blue-collar, is-what-it-is kind of town, and I try to take that with me," Rapinoe said
in a 2018 ESPN story. "I never want to just say, 'Oh, I'm from
California.' I'm not from California; I'm from Redding. For me, that means something."
Rapinoe shared an image from a Record Searchlight’s front page on social
media with the caption “Hometown love is the best kind of love” after
winning the 2019 World Cup. In 2018, Rapinoe helped start a fundraiser to support Redding area residents affected by the Carr Fire.
As they have in previous years, residents of Redding will cheer Rapinoe as
she attempts to win her third World Cup later this summer in Australia and
New Zealand. But as she prepares to enter retirement, it's unclear what Rapinoe’s legacy will be in the town where she first learned to kick a
soccer ball.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on July 8, 4:45 p.m. to correct information on the Shasta County Board of Supervisors.
https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/how-megan-rapinoe-remembered- hometown-redding-18190858.php
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