If you identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, it won’t have escaped your notice that the USWNT, who are FIFA’s No. 1 team and three-time champions of the World Cup, have several queer women in the squad. There’s goalkeeper Adrianna Franch, defender Tierna Davidson, and an engaged couple Ali Krieger, a defender, and Ashlyn Harris, a goalkeeper.

Then there’s Megan Rapinoe, the purple-haired co-captain and star midfielder of the U.S women’s soccer team, who has been the World Cup’s standout player in the tournament, as much for her unparalleled talent on the pitch as for her outspoken views. She’s the leading voice in the USWNT’s federal lawsuit against the U.S Soccer Federation for alleged gender discrimination and violating both the Civil Rights Act and Equal Pact Act, single-handedly responsible for scoring the two goals that ensured the USA’s victory in the high-stakes quarter final match against France, and a defiant critic of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, after rejecting his invitation to visit the White House should the US team win the Women’s World Cup (which she subsequently accepted from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez).

Women’s World Cup: “The USWNT’s queer players are fighting for social justice, and we should all celebrate their pride”