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" 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

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" Just emotionally, as amazing as it is to win the World Cup, it's emotionally draining in many ways. "

" Maybe you are homophobic a little bit, but then you see me, and you've always loved me, and you love the way I play, and your kids love me. And then you're like, 'Oh, that's OK. It's fine.' Once it gets a little bit more personal, it helps break down those barriers. "

" The climate is much different for men. That stigma is only going to be broken when people come out and see that there is a positive response. That doesn't mean there will be no negative response, but if people can have the courage to be one of the first, which is very hard, those barriers can be broken down very quickly. "

" Maybe you're not having a thousand times more injuries, but there's an aspect to the purity of the game and the quality of the game that is played on grass that is different on turf. "

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

" My mom, whether it's right or wrong, she had dreams for me to have a certain life. It takes time to get used to that. But they've been really supportive, and they love me for exactly who I am. "

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

" Over the years, I have really figured out what works for me. It's not about what anyone else is doing. I can't worry about whether I am doing everything that another player is doing, which can be hard sometimes. I have to trust my training and know my body and figure out what will get the best out of me. "

Megan Rapinoe

Worry

Trust

" If there's one thing this team doesn't lack, it's competitiveness and a desire to win. No matter if we come off a win or come off a loss, it seems like we don't really care. We're always motivated to win. "

" For this group, because we have so many big personalities, I think the manager also has to have a big personality but in a way that sort of knows how to deal with everything. "

" 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. "

" I just think gay men are looked at much less favorably than gay women. If you look at the overall stereotype, lesbians are sexy, and gay men are disgusting. Girl and girl is fine, and guy and guy seems to just be something completely different. "

" With the national team, we have these fans, people love of us, people come up to us in our cities, and they're like, 'We love you - what are you doing in Seattle?' And I'm like, 'I live here, and I've played here for the last five years.' "

" Obviously to be on this team, to be able to represent my country and have the platform that I do, I'm incredibly grateful for it. "

" 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 play a certain style. I'm not willing to compromise that part of me. "

" I think it's absolutely absurd that we're playing on turf, and it's really a slap in the face to women's football by FIFA and just a show of disrespect. "

" Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties. "

" 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 think we need to keep our faces out there and to keep our game out there and keep it growing. "

" 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. "

" One of the U.S. Soccer Federation's points is that it's an honour and a privilege to to play for this country, and it is. But we also represent the entire country, and the idea of liberty and justice isn't afforded to everyone. "

" Sometimes when you date people, you end up breaking up, and if teammates are mature enough to deal with that, then it's okay. I never want to bring any undue drama to the team. "

" When I take a knee, I am facing the flag with my full body, staring straight into the heart of our country's ultimate symbol of freedom - because I believe it is my responsibility, just as it is yours, to ensure that freedom is afforded to everyone in this country. "

" I think, in a large way, it's, 'OK, you've knelt; you've made your point.' But I don't necessarily feel like that. I don't know what that looks like. Do I kneel forever? I don't know, probably not. But I think until I can feel like I'm being more effective in other ways, then this seems appropriate to me. "

Megan Rapinoe

You

Feel

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

" It's really obvious that we have very serious inequality in this country across many different spectrums. Yes, we can talk about the form of protest or the way it's done or this or that. But it's still not really the conversation that I think we desperately need to have more of in this country. "

" It's often hard to just throw money at a problem when you don't really know what the problem is. "

" 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. "

" We didn't lose a game at home for two years. What are we missing? We have the product on the field. We're exciting. "