Megan Rapinoe, the retired U.S. soccer star turned perpetual activist, is facing well-deserved backlash for her deafening silence on a real women’s rights crisis—while she eagerly lectures the world on every other issue under the sun.
The drama unfolded during the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, where Iran’s national team made headlines not for their play, but for a subtle act of defiance: several players remained silent during the national anthem in their opener against South Korea, a move the oppressive Islamic regime branded as “wartime treason” amid ongoing U.S.-Israeli strikes hammering Iran. When the team was eliminated, Australian officials stepped up, offering asylum to those fearing brutal retribution back home. Five brave players—Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi—accepted, along with some support staff, and were relocated to safety after a security scare when one defector briefly contacted Iranian handlers, exposing their location. (Others wavered or returned, but those staying are on track for permanent residency.)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called them “brave,” assuring they’re safe and welcome. Even President Donald Trump urged Australia to grant protection—showing once again that real leadership stands with women escaping tyranny.
Yet where is Rapinoe, the self-proclaimed global champion of women’s rights? Crickets. The two-time World Cup winner and former Ballon d’Or Féminin recipient, who never misses a chance to rail against perceived injustices, has said nothing about these heroic athletes risking everything to escape a regime that stones women for “improper” dress and crushes dissent.
British TV host Piers Morgan didn’t hold back, torching her on X: “The silence over this from Rapinoe, and so many supposed ‘feminists’ like her, is so telling, damning, and hypocritical.” He nailed it further: “They’d rather campaign for biological men to wreck women’s sport than campaign for these heroic young sportswomen to help save their lives.”
Morgan’s point stings because it’s true. Rapinoe has vocally supported transgender athletes in women’s sports, dismissing concerns about fairness as “transphobic.” But when actual women—athletes like her—are facing life-threatening oppression under radical Islam, she goes radio silent. Instead, she’s busy on her podcast slamming the U.S. men’s hockey team for laughing at a Trump joke about the women’s squad, calling them “clowns” co-opted by a “clown.” Priorities, apparently.
This selective outrage exposes the bankruptcy of much modern “feminism.” Rapinoe and her ilk thrive on virtue-signaling in safe, Western contexts—kneeling during anthems, pink hair, pronoun lectures—but balk when it involves confronting a genuine authoritarian threat to women. Why? Perhaps because criticizing Iran’s regime doesn’t fit the progressive narrative that paints America as the real oppressor.
Meanwhile, Iran has pulled out of this summer’s World Cup (to be hosted in the U.S.), and Trump shrugged it off: “I really don’t care.” Good—let them stay home. But the Iranian players who chose freedom deserve our applause, not indifference from celebrity activists.
Rapinoe’s hypocrisy is shredded finer than cheddar. True women’s advocates cheer these defectors’ courage. The rest? They just perform for the cameras.
