Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh accused U.S. women’s soccer captain Megan Rapinoe on Wednesday of “angling” for a job with Nike similar to that secured by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Rapinoe made headlines throughout the Women’s World Cup tournament for saying she wouldn’t accept an invitation to visit the White House before they won. The comment spurred backlash from the president, who urged them to win the tournament first before declining an invitation that had not yet been offered.
“So here we have the captain of the American women’s soccer team reluctant to sing the national anthem. You know what I think this babe may be angling for? Kaepernick. She wants a Kaepernick deal with Nike. Damn straight,” Limbaugh said, according to his website. “She’s angling for a Kaepernick. She’s showing Nike she can be just as anti-American as Kaepernick. Give me a chance. Let me do the LGBTQ angle of Kaepernick.”
He continued, “She would demand to be paid the same as Kaepernick. But then she would have to perform like Kaepernick. They’d have to design a set of soccer shoes that had the American flag on it, she’d have to say, ‘Nope, not wearing ’em. Don’t sell ’em,’ and they would say, ‘OK. We won’t.’ Or whatever. Anyway, here’s how she answered the question.”
Limbaugh was referencing Nike’s decision not to release a new shoe that featured the Betsy Ross American flag because Kaepernick informed the company that he and others thought the flag was offensive because it was used during a time when slavery existed in the country. The company’s announcement came days before the Fourth of July.
