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" I think, bottom line, I have to be good enough to make the team. I have to bring something in and beat somebody else out, especially with a smaller roster for the Olympics. "

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" In female sports, if you're gay, most likely your team knows it pretty quickly. It's very open and widely supported. For males, it's not that way at all. It's sad. "

Megan Rapinoe

Sports

Way

You

" To say I am not mentally tired in ways and exhausted in ways would be a lie. "

" Homophobia in male sports is much stronger than in women's sports; the locker room environment is a lot different. It's going to be much more of a brave step, an earthshaking move, for a gay male athlete to come out. "

" I think our team kind of strives on weirdness sometimes. We have that 'rah-rah, rally' sort of American mentality that we can all kind of get around. "

" I feel like everyone is really craving people to come out. People want - they need - to see that there are people like me playing soccer for the good ol' U.S. of A. "

Megan Rapinoe

People

Need

" I'm totally obsessed with Tilda Swinton. She has this strange, beautiful sexiness about her. I love everything she does. And I love her hair. It was a little bit of an inspiration for mine. "

" I take playing for my country very seriously. It's a huge honor. "

" Being a winger or a wide mid, I have to run continuously for 90 minutes, which not only takes endurance but also strength in my legs to be able to be explosive for 90 minutes. I think weight training has really allowed me to sustain for those 90 minutes. "

" I think it's very difficult, and people don't give enough credit to how hard it is to do in-game commentary. I'd have a lot of work to do, but I'd definitely be interested. I'm always interested in breaking down the game, and I'd love to see more females doing it. "

" It's frustrating sometimes: as an athlete, you're thrust into the spotlight, and you know, I think this team has always done a really amazing job of understanding that we have this incredible platform; let's do something good with it. "

" I don't think there's any perfect way to protest. "

" There are not many athletes who are out. And I think it's something that's important. It felt important to me. I guess it seems like a weight off my shoulders, because I've been playing a lot better than I've ever played before. I think I'm just enjoying myself, and I'm happy. "

Megan Rapinoe

Better

" We're gracious and we're humble, and we play the game a certain way, whether we win or lose. "

" I think I have unique qualities that other people don't have that can contribute to the team. "

" I've always been a risk taker. Growing up, I had a lot of freedom and room to roam and do what I wanted, and I think that's a huge part of my game. "

" I was made exactly the way I was meant to be made in who I am and my personality and the way I was born. "

" Putting yourself out there is hard, but it's so worth it. I don't think anyone who has ever spoken out, or stood up or had a brave moment, has regretted it. It's empowering and confidence-building and inspiring. Not only to other people, but to yourself. "

" A typical week of training leading up to a major championship is like the sprinkling of parsley at the end of a dish. It's just the final little touches, that last little bit of strength or fitness, but mostly you are ready and are just maintaining and staying healthy. "

" Even before I came out, looking at me, I've probably looked a little gay. I had short hair, and, you know, it wasn't a huge surprise to people. But some athletes have this image to uphold and may feel like sponsors won't want them if they're gay. "

" Our team, in general, is in a position where people look up to us, and kids look up to us. I embrace that, and I think I have a huge LGBT following. I think it's pretty cool, the opportunity that I have, especially in sports. There's really not that many out athletes. It's important to be out and to live my life that way. "

" I've had to learn how to listen to my body over the years and figure out how it all works together. I'm not invincible, so focusing on training my whole body and injury prevention have been extremely important. "

" The more I've been able to learn about gay rights and equal pay and gender equity and racial inequality, the more that it all intersects. You can't really pick it apart. It's all intertwined. "

" There are plenty of sports teams that say they're very open and super accepting in the locker room. But are they really? Is it really a safe environment? Have they preset that environment to make these players feel comfortable for coming out? I don't think so because there's none out. "

" It seems like I'm thinking 400 hours a day; that's kind of how it feels. "

Megan Rapinoe

Thinking

Seems

" Everyone who has a pair of eyes in this country understands the racial tensions and the issues we have are very serious and they're not going away. Just because we had Barack Obama as our president and, on paper, everything looks equal, it's very clearly not. "

" We need to have a more thoughtful, two-sided conversation about racial issues in this country. "

" I do wish, when I was younger, that I knew that I was gay. It would have made things a lot clearer for me. Really. Looking back on it, it was so obvious, but it never really dawned on me. Socially, I felt like I didn't know how to be and who to be. If I had known back then, it would have given me more self-confidence. "

" Honestly, I feel like we are a walking protest. The fact that we're women professional athletes says that in and of itself. We've been feeling the inequality; we've been struggling with pay equality or whatever it is, or sexism in sports. "

" I feel in my heart it is right to continue to kneel during the national anthem, and I will do whatever I can to be part of the solution. "

" I need to feel like I have that freedom to make mistakes and to just try things. "

Megan Rapinoe

Need

Mistakes