Former U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe had a message for her followers after speaking at an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) event. “Protect trans people,” Rapinoe wrote on her Instagram Stories on Friday.
Rapinoe was at the ACLU event with her partner Sue Bird and others. She also warned voters in the audience how the presidential election between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris would “affect everybody.”
“This election is going to affect everybody,” she said. “The health of all of us affects your individual health. – from a mental health standpoint, from a physical health standpoint, from a safety standpoint.”
Rapinoe announced on Tuesday she will vote for Harris in the upcoming election.
“I’m voting for Kamala Harris because I believe in the power of coalition building—it’s how we create lasting change,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
“I have worked toward a goal through different approaches and perspectives, fighting to move forward and make progress for everyone is always worth it. Let’s unite for a better future.”
Rapinoe has been supportive of trans inclusion in women’s sports.
She was among the athletes in April to urge the NCAA not to ban trans athletes from women’s sports after the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics revised its policy on the matter.
When approached about it at a pride parade in June, Rapinoe refused to answer a question on the topic.
The two-time World Cup champion said last July she would support a transgender athlete on the U.S. Women’s National Team even if it meant replacing a biological female.
“Absolutely,” she told Time magazine. “‘You’re taking a ‘real’ woman’s place,’ that’s the part of the argument that’s still extremely transphobic. I see trans women as real women.
