Rapinoe bats for equality

MEGAN Rapinoe is enjoying the whirlwind of a two-time World Cup winner.

She picked up the Fifa Player of the Year award in Milan rocking a deeper shade of lavender hair, sent off retiring U.S. coach Jill Ellis with an undefeated victory tour and kept up the fight for pay equity against the U.S. Soccer Federation.

“It’s very surreal to say the least,” Rapinoe said. “Downtime? When I sleep, that’s my only rest time. It’s mostly good stuff, so hard to complain.”

Julie Foudy, a World Cup champion with the U.S. in 1991 and ‘99, calls Rapinoe the “golden girl.” She won the Fifa Golden Boot and the Golden Ball for most goals and best player, respectively, after the U.S. beat the Netherlands 2-0 in July at the World Cup in France.

Now she’s the winner of the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Sportswoman of the Year award, presented at the 40th annual event hosted by Billie Jean King on Wednesday night.

“They’re such a force in women’s sports and beyond,” Rapinoe said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

Rapinoe and her teammates were feted with a ticker-tape parade in New York after their World Cup victory. She shared the same float with U.S. Soccer Federation President Carlos Cordeiro, basking in the chants of “USA” and “Equal Pay.” The U.S. women’s team sued the federation in March for gender and pay discrimination.

At the post-parade celebration at City Hall, Cordeiro said, “We believe at U.S. Soccer that all female athletes deserve fair and equitable pay.” However, so far the two sides haven’t reached an agreement, with a May 5 trial date set in federal court in Los Angeles.

Rapinoe says there’s a “major discrepancy” in pay for accomplishing the same success on the field compared to the U.S. men’s team. /