In a controversial move, Sports Illustrated named Megan Rapinoe its 2019 Sportsperson of the Year.
The outlet praised Rapinoe in a lengthy profile piece that features a subheading reading, “Playing the world’s game, on the world’s stage, under attack by a world leader, she dominated. And in doing so without fear, Megan Rapinoe became a voice for so many across the world.”
It talks about how Rapinoe, who is a lesbian, didn’t speak to her dad for a time because he voted for President Trump (the first president to ever come into office supporting gay marriage) as well as her support of Colin Kaepernick, among other partisan talking points.
There’s no denying Rapinoe is a great soccer player. She earned the World Cup’s Golden Ball Award, recognizing the tournament’s best overall player. With Sports Illustrated fighting for relevance and its stature declining, it seems like they went with a pick that would generate buzz among liberals. It’s what they did last year when they had Christine Blasey Ford present their 2018 Inspiration of the Year Award.
While Sports Illustrated has the right to go full woke ESPN and continue declining because they force politics into the sports world, there are plenty of other athletes that may be more worthy of the award than Rapinoe based on athletic success in 2019.
In the NFL, at 41 years old, Tom Brady became the oldest starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl this past February when the New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams. Now 42, Brady enters this week with 536 career touchdown passes, three shy of Peyton Manning’s all-time record. With three games left in the regular season, he will certainly break that mark soon.
In the NBA, Kawhi Leonard would have been a solid choice. The 6 feet, 7 inches small forward earned his second NBA Finals MVP Award in June as a member of the Toronto Raptors. His effort helped the Raptors pass the Golden State Warriors, who had won the past two NBA championships. It marked the first championship for Canada’s lone NBA team.
Even Clemson football quarterback Trevor Lawrence would have been a respectable pick. At just 19 years old in January, he led his team to a national championship victory. crushing Alabama by 28 points. If they manage to beat Ohio State on Dec. 28, they’ll have won every game in 2019.
If Sports Illustrated wanted to show their appreciation for women’s soccer, that’s fine, too. The U.S. Women’s National Team had a great year winning the World Cup and deserve recognition. However, the magazine could have and should have given the award to the entire team. They had a number of great players on the team, and their fight for equal pay to the men’s team involves everyone on the roster, not just Rapinoe.
Such a move would not be unprecedented, either. The U.S. Women’s National team got the award in 1999 for winning the World Cup. Before them, the 1980 U.S. Men’s Hockey team got it for their gold medal performance in the Winter Olympics, including the “Miracle on Ice” victory over the Soviet Union. Five years after the women’s soccer team, the 2004 Boston Red Sox earned it for their first World Series title in 86 years. Most recently, the Golden State Warriors were the 2018 recipients for winning their third title in four years.
Even the 2019 Washington Nationals would have been worth considering: They got off to a 19-31 start to their season but won their first franchise World Series title, and Washington’s first World Series title since 1924.
Instead of picking a uniter, a person or team that is recognized by everyone as a phenomenal athlete, Sports Illustrated picked a political divider. It will generate some page views for them now, but it won’t save their publication.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a freelance writer who has been published with USA Today, the Boston Globe, Newsday, ESPN, the Detroit Free Press, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Federalist, and a number of other media outlets.
