Rapinoe Defends Trans Athletes in Sports, Criticizes Gaines and Cunningham on Podcast

Former United States Women’s National Team captain Megan Rapinoe used her podcast to challenge women’s sports advocates who oppose transgender athletes competing in female competitions. Speaking on “Why Are You Like This?,” Rapinoe targeted Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham and Riley Gaines, an athlete and OutKick contributor, following a photograph taken after a Fever game against the Minnesota Lynx.

Rapinoe criticized Cunningham for appearing in a photo with Gaines, suggesting the image revealed Cunningham’s underlying beliefs on transgender inclusion in sports. Rapinoe stated she based her assessment on the visual association rather than Cunningham’s own public statements, claiming the basketball player cannot simultaneously support both transgender people and Title IX protections.

The podcast host then turned attention to Gaines, characterizing her advocacy as a mission to exclude transgender individuals from public life. Rapinoe connected Gaines to the Heritage Foundation and criticized what she described as misleading language in debates about youth sports protections.

Rapinoe argued that existing policies at elite levels have effectively addressed concerns without public notice and dismissed worries about transgender participation as unfounded. She framed opposition to transgender athletes in women’s sports as villainizing transgender girls while claiming such policies exclude children from youth athletic competition.

Gaines previously competed against biological male swimmer Will Thomas at the 2022 NCAA Championships and has since become a prominent voice advocating for single-sex sports categories. Cunningham’s participation in the photograph prompted arena security to confiscate a sign supporters had created at the game.