President Donald Trump slammed U.S. women's soccer team co-captain Megan Rapinoe on Wednesday morning after she said in an interview that she wouldn't go to the White House if the team won the Women's World Cup and got an invitation to visit.
"I am a big fan of the American Team, and Women's Soccer, but Megan should WIN first before she TALKS!" Trump wrote.
Rapinoe said in an interview with soccer magazine Eight by Eight that she's "not going to the (expletive) White House."
"No. I'm not going to the White House," she said. "We're not going to be invited. I doubt it."
The magazine posted a clip including the snippet to social media Tuesday.
>> See the clip (Note: The clip contains explicit language. Viewer discretion is advised.)
In a series of statements posted Wednesday morning on Twitter, Trump said Rapinoe should "be proud of the Flag that you wear."
"We haven't yet … invited Megan or the team, but I am not inviting the TEAM, win or lose," Trump wrote. "Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team."
Rapinoe, who came out as gay in 2012, has long been critical of the Trump administration, according to The Washington Post. She was one of the few white athletes to join Colin Kaepernick's protest against police violence in 2016 by kneeling during the national anthem while playing for the Seattle Reign, the Post and The New York Times reported. After her protest, U.S. Soccer rewrote its rules for player conduct during the national anthem, according to the Times.
Since then, Rapinoe has stood silently for the national anthem alongside her teammates.
She told Yahoo! Sports last month that she is "a walking protest when it comes to the Trump administration," because of "everything (I) stand for."
"I feel like it's kind of defiance in and of itself to just be who I am and wear the jersey, and represent it," she said. "Because I'm as talented as I am, I get to be here. ... So it's kind of a good 'F you' to any sort of inequality or bad sentiments that the (Trump) administration might have towards people who don't look exactly like him."
The U.S. women's soccer team is set to face off against France on Friday for the quarterfinals of the Women's World Cup.
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