When U.S. women's football star Megan Rapinoe was honoured at Glamour Magazine's Women of the Year event this week, the athlete made good use of her time at the microphone - and didn't mince her words.
Delivering her acceptance speech, Rapinoe was quick to thank Colin Kaepernick, the NFL quarterback who has been out sidelined since 2017 for kneeling during the national anthem in protest of systemic racism, saying, “I don’t feel like I would be here without” him.
According to , Rapinoe said that Kaepernick had demonstrated “courage and bravery” and was “filled with conviction, unafraid of the consequences. Because he knew, it really wasn’t about playing it safe. It was about doing what is necessary and backing down to exactly nobody.”
She highlighted the discrepancy in how she had been rewarded for her activism, while Kaepernick had been persecuted for his.
“While I’m enjoying all of this unprecedented - and, frankly, a little bit uncomfortable - attention and personal success, in large part due to my activism off the field, Colin Kaepernick is still effectively banned from the NFL for kneeling during the national anthem in protest of known and systematic police brutality against people of colour, known and systematic racial injustice, and known and systematic white supremacy,”
Rapinoe, who has been , added: “I see no clearer example of that system being alive and well than me standing before you right now.
"It would be a slap in the face to Colin, and to so many other faces, not to acknowledge, and for me personally, to work relentlessly to dismantle that system that benefits some over the detriment of others, and frankly is quite literally tearing us apart in this country.”
Users on social media praised the speech.
"What a great speech!" One Twitter user wrote. "It's impact on me is good and all, but the girls behind Megan got something more than they expected. It shows in the way their faces light up when she says Colin Kaepernick."
Rapinoe's support for Kaepernick has been ongoing - with the soccer captain .
