YouSaid · the spoken record

Megan Rapinoe

lines on the record: 62
first: 2021-07-29
most recent: 2021-07-29
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“What about that? You're almost of the appropriate age. Yeah, I know, right? I don't know. I've been asked this a lot lately. I don't know. I will certainly be very involved in politics in whatever way that is. I'm not sure the area I can be most impactful yet. I say this a lot. I think everybody has a responsibility to make the world a better place in whatever way they can do so and be most impactful in. So if you're a lawyer, you should do pro bono hours. If you're me, you should do IG Lives and Zooms with people. So I think I'm still kind of trying to figure out where exactly I can be most impactful. I feel totally unqualified to be any sort of elected official, even though, you know, 2016, notwithstanding, normally you have to have some sort of extensive resume, I guess that's sort of out the window.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Whether that be a candidate or groups or whatever it is, to get more people involved. And with Elizabeth Warren, I loved her policies. I thought they were great. I think that she's proven to be very deaf in the political landscape with the Obama administration and all her work on the Consumer Protections Bill and how she looks out for people. I think she has this really sort of genuine, smart, but she's such a bulldog. And I was kind of battling do I do I get in early or do I get in late? Because what if you get in and then your candidate doesn't make all this happen? But I think the more people are engaged, like it's okay. It's okay that Elizabeth warns was my first choice and she's out now and now I'm going to be full bored with Vice President Joe Biden and throwing my support because I think ultimately it's the policies that I'm geeked out about. It's what's actually going to happen and affect people on a day-to-day basis that's going to have the most impact.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Like me, who I think tend to say, I don't want to make it political. I'm like, well, that's not even a question. It is political, whether you walk on the street and, you know, hit a stop sign or, you know, you don't have healthcare, whatever it is. I want younger people to understand that it's engaging with you. So how do we make it cool? How do we make it interesting?”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I mean, I think that's a perfect way to put it, has been an evolution. I think as I've sort of waged more into this sort of political landscape, I really enjoy it and I like it. I'm interested in politics. I think that getting younger people to understand that whether you're engaging with politics or not, it's engaging with you. So you might as well get involved. I mean, we're seeing that firsthand now. How important is not only the president, but everyone in his cabinet and we're seeing the governors and the mayors and the local official, everybody, I think is really starting to understand just how important government is and how I hope people see that we have the ability to shape it. So I think part of why I'm so into, I'm just interested personally, I want to understand it better, but I also want people my age and people.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, exactly. I got a lot of people with me in that. I mean, I think because of the lack of seriousness that he takes with the presidency and with his words, I think everyone was like, oh my gosh, this is insane. Like the president is coming at you. But I think because I didn't have that like sinking feeling, I think the team sort of took the signal from me and we were, it almost sort of brought us together closer. Everyone was like, oh my God, you're taking down the president. This is insane. He's having like a total meltdown on Twitter about you. So it was kind of a funny thing. And then obviously we were able to go on and win and then the silence was deafening. I still haven't gotten my invitation.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You know, it's so interesting. I feel like still to this day don't have that gut feeling like, oh, I did something wrong. Like the president just, you know, came at me on Twitter.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, no, they have not been very, they've been successful. But yeah, on the world stage, they haven't quite performed, I think, the way they want to. But I think in order to honestly have the paradigm shift that we need, there needs to be a clearing of the house. I don't think that you can have a lot of the same people that have overseen a lot of these decisions and been there for a long time, you know, unless they all sort of have a come-to-Jesus moment.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, thereabouts, thereabouts. We feel like not only the two World Cups, but years of discrimination, pay discrimination in our wages and contracts. As I've said for a long time, I always continue to say it, they're the only federation that we can have. We're the only team that they can have. We're going to be tied together forever. So I'm always hopeful that there's a way that we can work through this, but I really do believe that there needs to be a major paradigm shift in how they think about the women's team and how they value the women's team and how they value the men's team.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, so we tried mediation in the fall last fall. That did not go spectacular, clearly. We don't have a settlement. We're not going into mediation now. I mean, of course, settlement talks are ongoing always when you're in a lawsuit.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Soccer in the country for everybody. And so to signal to not only the boys that they are just innately better, but to the girls that they are innately lesser was just, I mean, it was stupid, first of all, you know, if you're trying to win this lawsuit, it was not a good step. And it just, I think, really showed how deep that sentiment goes that they were willing and comfortable to put that in a public briefing.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's been riling the hell out of us. I think something interesting about those horrible comments, that might have been the first time that the public had heard those comments or that we had seen those comments directly related to the lawsuit in a legal brief. But if not the exact word, certainly the exact sentiment is what we have been feeling all along. I think it shows up in our paychecks. I think it shows up in our mediations. I think it shows up in our bargaining sessions that we go through and just sort of the general dialogue and discourse that happens between the Women's National Team and the Federation. So to, you know, for them to take what I thought was another big step forward, I'm like, you're actually using this as an argument in the public. Like you know this is going to be public. You know people are going to see this was so disappointing. I mean, this is an organization charged with, you know, the development.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's really sad, and I think for people to understand the bigger picture, it's not that your life has been easy and this person's life has been hard. It's not that simple. Sometimes two people struggle, but there are certain people that, you know, based on historically in our country and laws that have been made and everything passed down.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, I mean, that was something that I still feel strongly to this day. It was never obviously an anti-military, but we have to give people the option and the ability and to safeguard them when they want to speak their mind, especially if they're speaking their mind for a subset of people who have historically been discriminated against. And I don't think anyone can deny the racial injustice and disparities that have been put on people in this country.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“How can we start to understand this a little bit better? And we don't agree on everything. I still think they probably wish I could have found a different way to do it. But there is no different way if I would have done something different. People would have been upset about that as well. So I think just the ability to have that conversation.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Lot of conversations around this, and I am so thankful for the relationship that we have because in being able to be so open with each other because it did put a lot on them. I wasn't in Reading having to defend myself or to defend my actions or to even be able to speak about them. You know, it was my mom who was just trying to go about doing her job and people coming into the restaurant mad or with snarky comments or being rude. at some of the nicer points. So I feel like it did open a lot of people's eyes up to a different part of the conversation and even just being willing to have this conversation because now someone that they know and love and who has grown up around them and who's been a staple in their workplace and their family, you know, she's saying these things, okay, maybe we trust her a little bit more. So how can”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Upset and mad, but I think it actually, you know, it did start a conversation in a wider group of people, but I think it also, you know, put a highlight on some of the criticism that Colin was getting. You know, I think that, you know, saying that he was anti-military or that I was anti-military or anti-America in any way, I think that a lot of the criticism, you know, they sort of got themselves on that one.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I mean, sort of immediately their response, I think after it was the night of the first game that I did it for the national team while playing for the national team, it was, you know, you should feel honored and privileged to pull on the jersey as if that's the only thing that matters. And I'm like, it's, you know, of course I feel honored and privileged, but part of that is, you know, being able to speak my mind. And also I pull on this jersey for everyone. And I think this flag drapes on certain people different than it drapes on other people. So I think, you know, going through that process, and I naively, I think I thought in the moment it's an opportunity to support Colin, but maybe I can bring another subset of people into the conversation who, you know, maybe wouldn't listen to Colin, but maybe would listen to me. I'm not sure I had that effect on people. People were very...”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I mean, it was a period in time that completely changed my life for the better, in my opinion, when I'm so thankful for. I mean, Colin Cabernet completely changed my life, Black Lives Matter. Just that sort of movement and I think as an athlete standing up for yourself, using your platform in that way, there's so many amazing things that come with being in a society really that glorifies famous people and athletes and all of that. There's so many positives that come from it. And I feel like I found the balance between all the positives and actually doing something with it. No, it was not looked upon favorably by a lot of people. I mean, I don't know if it was an actual black ball, but I don't think I ever put the jersey on or made a roster again until the rule was made by, I think it was the board of directors and the president of Yosaka that you had to stand.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, I think so. I mean, you know, they think we're loud and they think we're sort of arrogant. I was like, well, you're not totally wrong, but I think there's much more permission to be yourself here and to be different here. I think that we allow ourselves that freedom a little bit more. I mean, I think a lot of the stereotypes too are wrong, you know, it's just what they see on TV, much like what we see on TV. So I think that sort of speaks to being able to live in a different place or go to a different place, see other people when it's like there's really no right or wrong for the most part. It's just different cultures and what people are comfortable with and anything we see as different is just sort of automatically kind of brush up again.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“But yeah, there was a sort of, and I didn't speak French very well. I wasn't like fluent or anything. I mean, I would try. I would, you know, speak French in a store or whatever and just get answered back in English. And I was kind of like, well, that's fine. I tried. You appreciated it. I spent a year and a half there. So I got a little lonely towards the end. So it was nice to be able to come home. But living in another country, I would recommend to everyone if you have the opportunity just to be out of your comfort zone that much that often. You can't help but grow up a little bit.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I loved my time in France. I think interestingly, I thought, you know, I'm thinking France and it's like so open and, you know, so like free loving. I actually found that it was much more conservative than I thought. And maybe that was more in the sports world. And they thought I was like the craziest thing that had ever happened. I don't know if it's like they sort of have this like collective self-conscious. I talk about this all the time. If they would just like let loose a little bit more. Then, and maybe it's in the context of sports, but I feel like if you guys could just loosen up a little bit, then like everything would be a little bit better.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Should be a lot of these athletes feel they can't take the risk. They have their financial future and their careers hanging in the balance and maybe they just feel more comfortable unfortunately staying in the closet. It's very sad.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“We will stand with you when you do this. Not like, okay, when you come out, now we'll show the resources. I think it sort of needs to be signaled prior to that. And I think just the stereotype with gay men and with athletics, it's like if you're an athlete and you're a man, you're macho, if you're gay and you're a man, you're somehow feminine. I mean, I can't believe that we're still feeling that way because that's, I think we're past that.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Now that I can think of that that aren't out yet, I mean it's a very complicated issue. I think a lot of people focus on the fact that male athletes are out and they say they need to come forward and show that bravery. But for me, I think that the organizations and the teams and the leagues and the sort of structures around it clearly aren't making it so that those players feel safe. You know, it's like Michael Sam came out in the NFL and he just didn't have a team anymore. Now we can debate the merits of whether he was good enough to play, but I think that sends a pretty strong signal to other players and whether that's not just locker room talk, but from an institutional standpoint, some of these teams, I don't think they're really going above and beyond to make it clear to not only the players, but to the media and the staff and all of the players in the locker room and everyone in the organization that you will be safe and you will be protected.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I mean, David, it's so, so positive to this day. I mean, it's been a number of years and still to this day, kids come up to me, you know, parents come up to me, people my age, people much older than me, you know, just saying how impactful it was on their life just to have more people in different sectors of our society and of our culture that are not only out in saying it, but then not having it be the only thing that's talked about. It's like, yes, I am a gay professional athlete, but I think I've gotten to the point now you don't always have to put gay in there, but it's very clear that I am gay and it's sort of in the room all the time. So then it breaks down stereotypes and it becomes more normalized. So I think, you know, that's been sort of the gift that has kept on giving this whole time is just realizing how important it is, even just if one person comes out, you might just reach that one person. And for me, that just keeps happening.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You know, so it's kind of like, yeah, I do want to make an impact. Even this year, when people say, oh, you're leveraging the moment, I'm like, hell yeah, I'm leveraging the moment. What's the whole point of everything unless everybody's seen it? So it was kind of one of those things. It just felt like the right time and I felt like it was the right step for me to come out and say, especially leading into the Olympics, which was supposed to be all about unity and everyone competing at their best. And I just feel like if I'm not competing as my full self, then there's something missing.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It honestly just started to feel a little weird that I wasn't out, you know, out in my normal life, friends and family, but it was kind of one of those things like, are you omitting things or are you changing your answers? Are you using certain pronouns to avoid things? And it just started to feel disingenuous for me. So there was that part of it personally. And then, you know, I think like, you know, the gay rights argument and movement was more so starting on legalizing marriage. And that had become sort of more popular in broad topic. I think I was sort of dipping my toe more so into politics and getting involved in that. And it just felt like this is the right time. And I also think people are like, oh, you know, you did it right before the Olympics to like make a splash. I'm like, well, yeah, I'm not going to do it in the, you know, back page of a nothing newspaper where nobody's going to see it. What's the point of that?”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And I just feel like men have the space to have multiple things happening at one time. Whereas I think women don't always have that space. So you can be a killer, you can be a shit talker, and you can have a smirk and you can be an entertainer and you can be great and you can say it. It's like all those things are possible with men, whereas I feel like women, it's a little bit more like, okay, she's going to work really hard and we're going to inspire the next generation. It's all about inspiring the next generation and being a role model and all those things, but it's also like, I'm also great at what I do. And I also want to have fun. And I also, you know, want to be able to poke jabs and, you know, entertain the media and sort of have the whole circus going on. I feel like we need to allow our women more space to just be themselves and make it a little bit more entertaining.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think we look back at, I mean, Michael Jordan is a perfect example. I feel like this is probably where I get a lot of it. I grew up glued to the screen watching The Bowls. I had a life-size cutout and all these posters of Jordan. And he had this insane ability to dagger your heart and then do one of these, you know, or like give you a wink or tell you he's going to whoop your ass and then like do it with this sort of”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Going to rewind history. So I try to take all of the good with the losses and just think like, wow, I've had an opportunity to play in three straight World Cup finals and I've played, you know, I've never won an NWL championship, but I've played in two finals and we had two amazing seasons. And just try to learn from all of that. But it's like it's all kind of part of it. I don't get too stuck on the losses. I feel that I'm very fortunate to be able to play it on all these championship teams.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I mean, I feel like I'm very realistic with it. Almost how I approach injuries, like, you know, if I get injured, it's, you know, it's not really much I can control. I can go back and sort of look at an autopsy of what happened and get stronger in certain areas and hopefully prevent it. But I mean, if you play the game long enough, you know, and hopefully you're successful enough, you get in enough of those positions, you would be extremely lucky to win them all. And sometimes the other team just honestly plays better. I look back at Japan winning the World Cup in 2011. And then you take a bigger look at it the whole story, the tsunami had hit the year before, a sort of national rallying cry that they had and them coming back and winning in the late moments. It's still heartbreaking. I still feel like we should have won that. But I don't know. It's kind of like, what are you going to do? Like, you can't go back.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“But he I mean, I love the big games. I would trade all of the practice and everything and put me in like the most pressure cooker moment every time. And it's not really about the pressure. I feel like it's all kind of a grand performance. And I see myself in a lot of ways as an entertainer and as a performer in this way. And so you go out and you have the crowd is involved and the pressure is involved and the other team is involved and your team is involved. And maybe there's a championship on the line or whatever. And I like all of those elements kind of interplaying with each other. I think watching the documentary, you see that with Michael as well. He liked it all. He wanted it all of those moments. And it was like, you know, I think he had probably gone through in his mind. If I missed the shot, you know, I miss it. I'll take I'll take it.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Players on the field at one time and so much synchronization needs to happen. I think if you can equally trust yourself and trust your teammates and trust in your ability and their ability, then you really get to the special thing that makes teams great because you can have all the greatest players that you want, but if they're not working together as a team, you never get to that higher level of play or being a group.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, it is the mental aspect that I think sets people apart. I mean, of course, once you get to the very highest level, everyone is extremely gifted. I mean, it's not, you don't just work your way to the highest level. You have to be born with some sort of God given talent that sort of puts you there. But then once you're there and everyone is there, it takes a certain, and it's not cockiness. It's not arrogance, but it takes a certain amount of self-assuredness because everybody is exceptional. And almost in the sense of like, other people are going to be able to do things that you can't do at the highest level. But in turn, you're the same. You can do things that other people can't do either. So it's kind of the combination of being absolutely sure of yourself and absolutely sure of your teammates at the same time. I think if you can get that balance right, you know, especially in a team sport like we play so many.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“opportunity that I had and then once I was able to get back on the field with that sort of extra sense of humility and like this this could be taken away at any moment I feel like it made me a better person and a better player”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You know, I was like, I'm gonna get back as soon as possible, and this isn't going to keep me down, and I'm gonna do things my way, yada, yada. And then the second one hit, and I was like, oh, okay, yep, I'm not in charge here. So I just kind of need to, you know, give myself over to the process. And throughout it all, I never doubted my love for soccer or that I wanted to come back to it. And so I think through that, I realized like just be patient and give yourself the time you need to heal because you can't speed it up. Like you can't speed up the healing process. You can only work with it and sort of react to it. But the love and the passion was always there. I mean, it was difficult not being able to do what I was thinking I'm going to college for. Obviously getting my education, but really I was focused on the soccer. I think it tested me in those moments, but it also made me so grateful for what I had.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, I had to have a big dose of humility for myself. I think I went in as a freshman, you know, played well as a freshman. Oh, wow, I'm pretty good. I'm feeling pretty good about myself here. And then it happened, I think, you know, five or ten games into my sophomore”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And then I kind of realized like, okay, what are we talking about here? There has to be some grace, not all the grace. I think that parents, sometimes they want to, I don't know, they sort of as like, what does this have to do with me or how did I fail you? And it's like, it's actually not about you at all. So I think just giving that time to sort of understand the process and come to terms with it while still sort of pushing on some issues at the same time is the right way to go.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think that might have come a little bit later. My mom and I are very similar, we're both very fiery. So in the moment, I think I was like, well, first of all, shocked that she didn't already know. I was like, this cannot be coming as a surprise to you. Because when I first figured out, I was like, oh my God, I'm embarrassed that it took me this long. But then I think, you know, as the months kind of, you know, traveled on, I began to understand that as a parent, you would have your hopes and your dreams for your children. It doesn't mean that you can't have those, but the picture will change a little bit. And so I think in the beginning, I was like, you're going to, you know, be on board with this or like hell or high water, you're out of here.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And she was like, that is not your thing to tell. And I was like, I know, but, you know, I thought we could just maybe bring it all together. I thought they were like, you know, going to be totally fine about it. Took them a little bit to adjust, but overall they're fine now.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It was interesting because we actually went to school in different semesters. I took the first semester off to what have been like the fall semester to play in a youth world championship. So Rachel went ahead to college. I got there in the January semester. And so we both kind of came to it on our own and then sort of figured out that it was happening at the same time and kind of talked about it. I actually, I think in an effort to make it better for Rachel, but in hindsight, this probably wasn't my place. I actually outed both Rachel and I at the same time to my mom.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You know, I don't feel like it really was. She was far better at basically everything than me until midway through junior year in high school. And then it kind of switched a little bit. But we both, you know, went and played soccer at the University of Portland on a full ride scholarship. So we were both accomplished in our own right. But I think because she was so much better for all those years. And then we kind of like evened out. You know, I pulled ahead after college. It was never this competitiveness against each other. I think we've always been each other's biggest fans and wanting the best for each other. And I think it was clear that my passion really was in sports and in soccer and her passion wasn't quite there for it like it was with mine.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think I probably thought I really want to be that person. I'm not sure I quite understood the path or that there was a path. I'm not sure there totally was a path for me then. I think I was 13 or 14. But yeah, I definitely remember being like, this is the most incredible live thing I've ever been to. And just seeing not only the passion on the field, but with all of the spectators and wondering, I think to myself, is this something I certainly want to do it? This looks like the most amazing performance I could ever be a part of. But is there a way forward to that? I think I was probably still a little shy to be even be thinking that at that point.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“go back into prison. And then that's the people that you know and you're really just kind of in this loop that is really difficult to get out. You know, our prison systems are packed full of people who really just have drug issues. They're not violent criminals. It's obviously a very complicated issue. We go on for hours about it. But it's just so sad to see how many people have been caught up in it. I think a lot of people perception of it as that, you know, drug addicts are bad people and bad people do bad things. And it's just, that's just not the reality of it at all.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Our streets are being filled to the max with pills. I mean, we're all seeing it all now, obviously, with the opioid companies and the prescription drugs and just how devastating that was and how much knowledge these drug companies had that, A, it was addictive and B exactly what they were doing. They were pumping the famous town and West Virginia that had 30,000 pills per person or whatever it was. So there's that all happening at the same time. And then you're putting someone into the federal prison system at such a young age. And when they get out, what kind of job are they supposed to get? You can't get a job if you have a felony. No one wants to hire you. You're, you know, sort of now the gap between the life skills is increasing for you. And so now, you know, it's really difficult. The easiest thing is to, you know.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I believe it would have. Yeah. I really do. I mean, someone who's 15, 16 years old, you know, even into his early 20s, to have his route instead of go through intense therapy. And maybe that means a trade school, but therapy along the way and counseling and help to be thrown into a federal prison system to be in Susanville or Pelican Bay or whatever it may be. Really the problem at the root of it is drugs. It just makes no sense to me. First of all, we're filling, first of all.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I mean, there was bouts of treatment in different areas or different stints that he had. But it was more so on the context of, you know, do this and then you won't go to prison. But that's not really the most effective way, I don't think, to keep people from using drugs is threatening them to go to prison or to send them to prison for long periods of time, which I actually feel like, you know, once he was in prison, he got caught up in a lot of other things that really shaped the rest of his life in a lot of ways.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And heroin addiction, how difficult that is, and how the disease just grabs you. And then later in life, understanding more so the criminal justices. And now it's like.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, no, it was very, very difficult at that time. I think you first got in trouble when I was 10 years old, so he was 15 years old, not really understanding quite what totally was going on, but my parents always told us in very frank terms what was happening, which I'm very thankful for that. It was never something that was kind of kept secret. I mean, it was so hard, you know, to not only see your brother who you look up to and still to this day. you know, love him so much and I'm so thankful that we had the relationship that we had and that we still have. But going through that as such a young kid and seeing your parents upset and then seeing him in and out of prison and going through all the sort of high school years of being angry with him and pissed at him. Why can't you just stop or you're hurting us? And then understanding more about addiction and particularly opioid addiction.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I mean, it's hard to say, but I think what happens with probably 99% of people that get mixed up with drugs or opioids eventually and heroin eventually. I think he was a popular kid in school. He wasn't withdrawn or depressed or anything. He was very social. I think it started off as a social thing for him. But quickly, probably whereas most kids try it through school or whatever, he got caught at school with drugs and with paraphernalia. So immediately sort of put into the system. And then from there, he just, you know, kept using drugs and kept getting caught. And, you know, eventually out of juvenile and into county and then into the state prisons and then eventually into federal prisons. And really a lifelong struggle.”
2021-07-29 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of The Axe Files: Megan Rapinoe · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source