U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe is getting a book deal after the team’s latest World Cup championship.
Rapinoe gained international fame during the U.S.’ World Cup title run both for her on-field success and her political activism. Rapinoe’s book will be published by Penguin Press, and is scheduled to be released next year. (RELATED: Megan Rapinoe Responds To Criticism: ‘I’m Very Deeply American’)
“I hope this book will inspire people to find what they can do, and in turn inspire other people around them to do the same,” Rapinoe told the New York Times. (RELATED: Megan Rapinoe’s Girlfriend Sue Bird Compares Trump Criticism To ‘Out Of Body Experience’)
Megan Rapinoe accepts the Generation Change award onstage during Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports 2019 at Barker Hangar on July 11, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Penguin Press president and editor in chief Ann Godoff told the Times that she was impressed with Rapinoe’s authenticity.
“She’s just operating from this very honest and straightforward and ‘This is who I am’ place,” Godoff said.
Rapinoe has become a polarizing figure with some praising the star for her activism and others criticizing Rapinoe for several statements she has made that were widely perceived to be anti-American. Rapinoe kneels for the national anthem before every game, and has stated that she will “probably never sing the National Anthem again.”
Rapinoe has also been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, exclaiming that she would not go to the White House due to her dislike for the president. Rapinoe has denied charges that she’s unpatriotic, saying that her actions are intended to improve the country.
“I think for the detractors, I would have them look hard into what I’m actually saying and the actions that I’m doing,” she said earlier this month. “Maybe you don’t agree with every single way that I do it, and that can be discussed. I know that I’m not perfect.”