Rusty Weiss
Former U.S. women’s national team star Megan Rapinoe broke her extended silence this week on the Iranian women’s soccer team’s dramatic protest at the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup in Australia.
After being repeatedly called out by critics, Rapinoe somehow mustered the courage to praise the female athletes for their “bravery and courage.”
Several members of the team sought protection in Australia amid fears for their safety back home under an oppressive regime.
The controversy erupted when the Iranian team stood in stoic silence during the anthem ahead of their opening 3-0 loss to South Korea — a move widely seen as resistance against the regime amid the U.S.-Israel joint strikes on Iran.
Iranian state media quickly labeled the players “wartime traitors.”
In their next game, the women saluted sharply and sang loudly during the playing of the anthem, making it clear to some that they were being coerced or had feared for their safety upon returning to Iran.
3 days ago, Iran’s Women’s Soccer Team protested the Islamic Regime by refusing to sing the national anthem.
— The Persian Jewess (@persianjewess) March 9, 2026
2 days ago, Iranian state media branded the women “wartime traitors.”
Today, the women were desperately begging for help from inside the team bus. They are being… pic.twitter.com/bZgZ5XGo5B
Rapinoe’s Delayed Praise for Iranian Women’s Soccer Bravery Sparks Fresh Criticism
Roughly three weeks after the Iranian women’s soccer team stood up to tyranny—actual tyranny, not the made-up variety Rapinoe thinks she’s a victim of—Megan finally spoke up. Glad she was finally able to locate her spine.
“I’m just thinking about this in the context of, like, the immense pressure that these young adults and these young women are under to make a decision like this,” she said on the A Touch More podcast. “Like, the incredible courage and bravery it would take knowing what that could potentially mean for their family back home.”
“The bravery and courage to protest the national anthem, basically in protest of the Iranian regime and not singing the national anthem during a match. The stress and uncertainty they’re facing – their family, their loved ones. What does that all mean for back home?”
Rapinoe said she “fully support(s) their decisions to seek asylum and seek a better life and to try to escape an incredibly oppressive regime in that situation.”
“I don’t know what’s going on with them and why some of them left, however that is. I hope the ones that returned home have done so under their own free will and choice, and that their families are safe, that they’re safe, and their friends are safe,” she added. “I hope the ones that have chosen to stay feel a sense of peace and hope about a potential for a new life in Australia or otherwise.”
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The delay in Rapinoe’s response drew sharp criticism from figures like Piers Morgan and conservative outlets, who highlighted her history of rapid public commentary on issues ranging from U.S. anthem protests to interactions between American athletes and political figures.
“The silence over this from Rapinoe, and so many supposed ‘feminists’ like her, is so telling, damning, and hypocritical,” Morgan wrote on X. “They’d rather campaign for biological men to wreck women’s sport than campaign for these heroic young sportswomen to help save their lives.”
She popped off when the US men’s hockey team offended her over a harmless joke, but women’s lives being threatened in her own sport … we got nothing for weeks. Why? Because Megan is a coward. Plain and simple.