U.S. Women’s National Soccer player Megan Rapinoe condemned NBA player Draymond Green’s recent comments on the gender pay gap in sports after he said he was “really tired” of hearing female athletes “complain” about pay.
Rapinoe, a forward on the women’s national soccer team, called upon Green, a forward for the Golden State Warriors, to educate himself when it comes to female athletes’ demands for pay equity.
“Obviously, you kinda showed your whole ass, not even understanding what we all talk about all the time, whether it’s WNBA players or us here on the national team. So, that was frustrating,” Rapinoe said of Green on Wednesday, according to a report by Yahoo Sports.
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The soccer player said she was disheartened to hear comments questioning what she and other women athletes have been advocating for by Green, who is black, because he should have an understanding of “what it’s like to be oppressed.”
“To have someone who does know what it’s like to be oppressed, in many ways, to heap that all back on female players, or people who play female sports, is just really disappointing,” Rapinoe said, adding that she would be “happy” to sit down with him and talk about the issue.
Talking to reporters in March, Green called upon women to stand up to executives to get higher pay and lay out a plan on how to make it happen rather than just vocalizing concerns.
“I’m really tired of seeing them complain about the lack of pay because they’re doing themselves a disservice by just complaining,” Green said. “They’re not laying out steps they can take to change that, and so it’s coming off as a complaint. Because the people that can change it, they’re just going to continue to say, ‘Well. the revenue isn’t there, so if you don’t bring in the revenue, we can’t up your pay.'”
Rapinoe and others on the women’s soccer team have long been active in bringing attention to the pay disparity in sports. In 2017, Rapinoe and 25 of her teammates brought a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation targeting the pay gap between them and their male counterparts.
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Rapinoe, along with teammate Margaret Purce, went to the White House last month to advocate for the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, highlighting the need for more investment in women’s sports.
The women’s soccer team is set to embark to Tokyo this summer to compete for a fifth Olympic gold medal.
