Soccer star Megan Rapinoe made headlines for helping the U.S. win the World Cup — and for the political message she sent.
“We have to be better,” the dyed-haired, openly gay 34-year-old told fans. “It’s our responsibility to make this world a better place.”
Now she has scored a Penguin Press book deal for a volume which is sure to be about much more than sports. It is being timed for publication close to the 2020 election.
“A lot of women, great women soccer players, have written memoirs,” Penguin Press president and editor in chief Ann Godoff told the New York Times. “Megan has a different platform. … She’s just operating from this very honest and straightforward and ‘This is who I am’ place.”
Rapinoe has been outspoken about social justice issues and politics, including gay rights and pay equity for women. Godoff said those issues would be addressed in the book.
Rapinoe also inked a deal to write a book for a younger audience with Razorbill, a division of Penguin Young Readers, to address “the power young people have within their own communities and the world at large.”
“We can change the world in one generation, and have one hell of a time doing it,” Rapinoe said in a statement.
Godoff declined to say how much Rapinoe is making from the deal.
Over the weekend, Rapinoe closed the door on a potential run for office as some questioned whether she had a future in politics after she went head to head with President Trump over a visit to the White House.
“No. I’m not going to run,” she said. “I’m, like, wildly unqualified to be running for office.”
