Retiring U.S. soccer star Rapinoe honoured by OL Reign in front of record NWSL crowd

Retiring star Megan Rapinoe was honoured by club team OL Reign on Friday night in front of a National Women’s Soccer League record crowd of 34,130 fans in Seattle, many of whom wore pink wigs in her honour.

With her family and fiance Sue Bird looking on, Rapinoe started for the Reign in a scoreless draw against the Washington Spirit as Lumen Field’s public address system played “Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone” when she took to the field with her teammates.

Rapinoe had already played her final match with the U.S. national team last month in Chicago, but Friday marked her final regular-season home game for the Reign.

A video played before the match included well-wishes from such luminaries as Abby Wambach, Ken Griffey Jr. and Magic Johnson.

Rapinoe has played in 114 regular-season games for the Reign and scored 49 goals. Her club career isn’t quite over: Next week the Reign wrap up the season on the road against the Chicago Red Stars.

And there’s a possibility the Reign make the playoffs. With Racing Louisville’s 3-2 victory over the Orlando Pride earlier Friday, the Reign moved into sixth place in the standings, just above the playoff line.

Rapinoe announced before this summer’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand that she was stepping away from the game after an illustrious career that included two World Cup titles, an Olympic gold medal and an Olympic bronze.

At the 2019 World Cup in France, Rapinoe scored six goals, including a penalty in the final against the Netherlands. With her lavender hair, her victory pose, arms outstretched, became one of the iconic images of the dominant U.S. run.

She claimed the tournament’s Golden Boot and the Golden Ball for the best overall player, and later that year was named the Best FIFA Women’s Player and won the prestigious Ballon d’Or.

Commissioner Jessica Berman hopes Rapinoe will continue to play a role in the league.

“It’s hard to put into words the impact she’s had on the game, both on the pitch and off the pitch. She has embodied courage and bravery in a way that I don’t know many athletes have done,” Berman said. “And she’s really embraced her role with her full authentic self.”

Rapinoe is also known for her social justice activism. She led the national team’s long fight for equal pay with the men’s national team, which started with an EEOC complaint back in 2016. It was finally resolved last year, when both teams reached contracts with U.S. Soccer that paid them equally and split tournament prize money.

Among the first prominent athletes to publicly come out, Rapinoe has been outspoken about LGBTQ issues, including transgender rights. She has also advocated for racial equity, and was among those who knelt in solidarity with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.