Activist Athlete Megan Rapinoe Left Off USWNT SheBelieves Cup Roster After Olympics Disappointment

Activist athlete Megan Rapinoe was among four veteran USWNT soccer players who were left of the SheBelieves Cup roster after a disappointing 2020 Olympics (played in 2021).

The team won the bronze medal at those games, but barely, after finishing second in the group stage and winning their quarterfinals match on penalty kicks.

Manager Vlatko Andonovski said of the decision, “It doesn’t mean that all these players that have done in the past are just going to come back in the next camp because they’ve done well a year ago and two years ago.”

Andonovski then suggested that perhaps the players were simply too old now and explained, “There’s a reason why Mia Hamm is not in camp still. We’re not calling Julie Foudy right? So the same goes here.”

“They need to perform, they need to play in their (NWSL) markets, they need to play well in their markets and show they can still be valuable for the national team,” Andonovski added.

Concacaf’s tandem Women’s World Cup/Olympic qualifying tournament takes place in July so it will be interesting to see if Rapinoe or the others return then.

Twitter user “tdwriter” said of Andonovski’s comments, “Really a disrespectful response in my opinion. It’s Vlatko that needs to prove his worth here.”

Really a disrespectful response in my opinion. It’s Vlatko that needs to prove his worth here.

— tdwriter (@tdheartnyc) February 3, 2022