After helping lead her team to the Women’s World Cup titleSunday, Megan Rapinoe needed one more thing: A kiss from her significant other.
And she got that after she tracked down her girlfriend, WNBA star Sue Bird, in the stands of Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium in Lyon, France.
The two hugged and kissed as 58,000 spectators cheered Team USA’s second consecutive World Cup victory and fourth title overall.
They fought with the President
The couple’s relationship was put under the spotlight after Rapinoe blasted President Trump and said she would not visit the White House if the US Women’s National Team won the World Cup.
Trump responded by ranting about Rapinoe on Twitter, telling her to “win first before she talks” and “finish the job.”
The President then extended a White House invitation “win or lose” to the US national team.
Trump was also upset with Rapinoe because she knelt during the US national anthem in support ofColin Kaepernick’s silent protest against police brutality.
All this presidential drama wasjust too much for Bird, who penned a 2,900-word article for the Players’ Tribune titled “So the President F*cking Hates My Girlfriend.”
“I mean, some of it is kind of funny….. but like in a REALLY? REALLY? THIS GUY??? kind of way,” Bird, a star on the Seattle Storm, wrote. “It would be ridiculous to the point of laughter, if it wasn’t so gross.”
They’ve been in the spotlight before
Bird said that, while she was inclined to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, the online hate she and Rapinoe have gotten from strangers has been unsettling.
Bird, who won three WNBA titles and four Olympic gold medals, said Trump’s criticism would not get to Rapinoe.
“You just cannot shake that girl,” she wrote. “She’s going to do her thing, at her own damn speed, to her own damn rhythm, and she’s going to apologize to exactly NO ONE for it.”
This isn’t the first time that this sports power couple has made headlines. Last year they were thefirst gay coupleto appear on the cover of ESPN the Magazine’s Body Issue.
