Sue Bird Writes Powerful Essay About President Donald Trump Attacking Girlfriend Megan Rapinoe
Sue Bird has nothing but love and support for her “superstar” girlfriend Megan Rapinoe.
The three-time WNBA Champion, 38, recently penned an essay in honor of the U.S. women’s national soccer team co-captain titled “So the President F— Hates My Girlfriend” — a nod to Rapinoe’s headline-making clash with President Donald Trump.
In the lengthy note, which was published on The Player’s Tribune on Tuesday, Bird explained how she’s been processing the fact that President Trump, 73, attacked her girlfriend for saying she would not go “to the f— White House” if her team wins the World Cup.
Throughout the tournament, taking place in France, Rapinoe, 33, has also declined to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” with her teammates before each match to raise awareness about police misconduct and racial injustice in America — a gesture that Trump has also publicly criticized.
Bird began the essay by explaining that she didn’t anticipate writing another piece on the site — unless, she joked, the president of the United States went on “a hate-filled Twitter spree trolling my girlfriend while she was putting American soccer, women’s sports, equal pay, gay pride and TRUE LOVE on her back, all at once, scoring two majestic goals to lead Team USA to a thrilling victory over France and a place in the World Cup SEMIFINALS”
“But I’m a woman of my word. So here I am,” she quipped.
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Opening up about Trump’s recent attack on Rapinoe, Bird said it was “weird,” but admitted that “some of it scares the s— out of me” and made her “freak out a little.”
“What’s legitimately scary, I guess, is like….. how it’s not just his tweets. Because now suddenly you’ve got all these MAGA peeps getting hostile in your mentions,” the basketball star explained. “And you’ve got all these crazy blogs writing terrible things about this person you care so much about.”
“It’s like an out-of-body experience, really — that’s how I’d describe it,” she added. “That’s how it was for me.”
Though Bird was concerned about the backlash, she revealed that Rapinoe was “completely unfazed” by the drama — and proved it by scoring two goals on penalty kicks in the game against Spain on June 24, which the U.S. ended up winning 2-1.
“Megan, man….. I’ll tell you what. You just cannot shake that girl,” Bird wrote about her partner. “She’s going to do her thing, at her own damn speed, to her own damn rhythm, and she’s going to apologize to exactly NO ONE for it.”
“So when all the Trump business started to go down last week, I mean — the fact that Megan just seemed completely unfazed? It’s strange to say, but that was probably the only normal thing about it. It’s not an act with her,” Bird said.
“She shrugged off the Rude Man on Twitter, and managed to play….. I’d say pretty well 🙂,” she added.
Aside from Trump, Bird also touched on her immense pride for Rapinoe, as both an athlete and a voice for gender and LGBT equality.
“It was like the entire country, all at once, said — Soccer? YES. Women’s soccer? YES. An openly gay superstar swagging out with two goals and bats— celebrations and leading us to a huge-ass win in women’s soccer? YES,” she wrote.
“That same openly gay superstar not just taking some preapproved, basic level of pride in her sexuality, but actually being the world’s biggest most kissable goofball queen and literally crediting her sexuality for those two goals and her bats— celebrations and our huge-ass win in women’s soccer? YES,” Bird added.
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She also referenced a photo that a fan had shared on Twitter of Rapinoe, snapped shortly after one of the soccer player’s goals. In the tweet, the fan simply wrote, “This is the American flag now.”
“It’s a photo of my girlfriend, BEAMING ear to ear, smiling her BOOBS off on a football field, mugging for the camera, weirdo dye job and all — just totally and completely over-goddamn-flowing with excellence? YES,” Bird proudly said of the snapshot.
In a final note, the Seattle Storm guard referenced Friday’s victorious game against France — Rapinoe, again, scored two goals “WHILE A GUEST IN THEIR MAISON,” Bird emphasized — and explained that she was many things during the match, but finished on one, very touching identity.
“I was happy. I was crazy. I was PROUD. I was pretending to know about soccer. I was a little overwhelmed. I was pretty damn American,” she wrote before sweetly noting, “And I was in love with Megan Rapinoe.”
A post shared by Megan Rapinoe (@mrapinoe) on Jan 1, 2019 at 11:49am PST
RELATED: Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird Become the First Same-Sex Couple Featured in ESPN’s Body Issue
Bird and Rapinoe first started dating in September 2016, after hitting it off at a sponsor event at the 2016 Rio Olympics, according to the Seattle Times. The pair had known each other for some time and both lived in Seattle, but weren’t close until that event.
Rapinoe later moved in with Bird and in 2018, they became the first same-sex couple to be featured in ESPN‘s body issue.
“It’s nice to be going through the same thing,” Bird admitted to the local publication of dating another professional athlete. “It’s very similar, the things you go through: mindsets of things, team chemistry, dealing with a coach. So it’s nice to have a sounding board at home that just understands.”
“With Megan, I don’t have to explain. It’s like just familiar enough, and the themes are sort of the same, with coaches and players, that it’s a nice commonality,” she added.
