Rapinoe expects USWNT to snub Donald Trump visit after World Cup final

BetOdds United States Women's World Cup Netherlands United States v Netherlands

The president has invited the squad to the White House even if they do not win Sunday's final, but Rapinoe does not expect anyone to accept

Megan Rapinoe has suggested the entire United States team could snub an invitation from Donald Trump to visit the White House if they win the Women's World Cup.

The USWNT are looking to retain their title as world champions when they face Netherlands in the final on Sunday.

It is customary for championship-winning athletes in the United States to visit the White House and meet the president, but Rapinoe has made clear that she has no intention of going.

Last month, she told Eight by Eight: "No f*ckinâ€™ way will we be invited to the White House. [Trump] tries to avoid inviting a team that might decline [the invitation]. Or, like he did when the [Golden State] Warriors turned him down, heâ€™ll claim they hadnâ€™t been invited in the first place."

Trump responded to the controversy by inviting the players regardless of the result on Sunday, but Rapinoe does not expect her team-mates to attend.

She said at a press conference on Saturday: "I donâ€™t know, I havenâ€™t spoken to everyone about it but obviously not myself, not Ali Krieger.

"I would suspect not many if any of the other players, but I havenâ€™t spoken to everyone."

While Rapinoe has been an open critic of Trump throughout the tournament, she is not the only player to have touched on the subject.

Captain Alex Morgan said a decision on going to the capital would be made after the final but added "I think you guys know the answer to the question anyway."

Meanwhile, Krieger took direct aim at Trump in an interview with CNN this week, voicing her support of Rapinoe and confirming she would not travel to Washington DC.Â

"I refuse to respect a man that warrants no respect," she said.Â "I feel that staying silent at times can side with the oppressor and I didn't want her to feel like she was having to process this all alone, because a lot of us do have those similar feelings.

"I wanted to make sure that as one of her close friends, she didn't feel that and I feel like we're able to focus - as women it's funny, imagine that, we can multitask -Â on two things at once.

"I refuse to just sit back and watch an abuser, a bully talk like that to my friend and I support her as a friend and I wanted to make sure that I said something that meant something to me and was important to me and that's why I did what I did."

2019-07-06 18:00:02

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