Soccer star Megan Rapinoe says she'll retire at end of season

Soccer superstar and social activist Megan Rapinoe announced on Saturday that she will retire from the sport at the end of this year’s National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) season. 

Rapinoe made the announcement on her Instagram account just as her fourth World Cup tournament is about to get underway later this month. She included a photo of herself as a young girl. 

“It is with a deep sense of peace and gratitude that I have decided this will be my final season playing this beautiful game," she wrote in her post. "I never could have imagined the ways in which soccer would shape and change my life forever, but by the look on this little girl’s face, I think she knew all along."

Rapinoe is an Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Cup champion with the U.S. women’s team. 

She has also been vocal about a wide range of social issues and fought for the protection of reproductive and transgender rights. 

Rapinoe denounced the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which had declared a constitutional right for abortion, last year after the ruling was handed down. She argued that the decision will disproportionately affect poor women, women of color, immigrants, women in abusive relationships and women who have been raped. 

“I think the cruelty is the point, because this is not pro-life, by any means,” she said. 

Rapinoe also slammed bans that have been put in place on transgender individuals competing on a gendered sports team consistent with their gender identity. She called the restrictions “disgusting” and said she “100 percent” supports the inclusion of transgender athletes in sports and beyond. 

“I think people also need to understand that sports is not the most important thing in life, right? Life is the most important thing in life,” she told Time Magazine last year. 

She is also one of 40 major athletes who signed on to a letter addressed to the House in April that called on lawmakers to drop a bill that would ban transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports. 

Rapinoe was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Biden last year, making her the first soccer player to receive the honor. 

The regular season of the NWSL runs from March to October, with playoffs continuing into November.