Trolls pile onto Megan Rapinoe after shock USA loss in Olympics

After waiting five years to regain victory after losing to Sweden at the 2016 Olympics, the U.S. women’s soccer team faced a nearly identical fate in 2021, with Sweden once again defeating the team in a 3-0 match in Tokyo. While it’s a sad day for U.S. football fans (we, of course, mean “soccer,” but since this is an English publication, we must use the UK term that is “football” throughout), Megan Rapinoe’s critics are relishing in the team’s defeat, seeing it as her personal failure.

Right-wing trolls have taken to Twitter to roast the World Cup winner, calling Rapinoe a slew of nicknames ranging from “SJW” [social justice warrior] to “anti-American” to an “utter, supreme narcissist.” Apparently, the right wing is displeased with the Rapinoe’s tendency to “take a knee” prior to matches: In an excerpt from her book, Rapinoe revealed that after she knelt, “White people were mad. Whew, were they mad! Conservative commentators in the media immediately started shouting and yelling that kneeling during the anthem disrespected the military.” They also don’t seem to like her hair.

So when the U.S. team knelt before their Olympics match against Sweden, the right-wing was thrilled that they were then defeated, as if it was some sort of leftist karma.

Some even feel the team’s loss is so egregious that it’s actually adequate justification for the women’s football team to get paid less than the men’s.

Others drew parallels to Fairly Odd Parents’ godmother “Wanda,” a cartoon character who also has purple hair, and about whom very few grown adults spend any time thinking...or so we thought.

But of course, what these trolls don’t realise, is that by continually tweeting out insults about Rapinoe, they will inevitably prompt her name to trend. In fact, they already have.

Thus, Rapinoe’s critics are actively making the woman they detest all the more famous because they can’t stop talking about her. Ironic.