Basketball great Sue Bird is gushing about her girlfriend, U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe, in a new op-ed Tuesday. And she's also taking some shots at President Donald Trump after Trump and Rapinoe have traded barbs in recent weeks.
The piece in The Players' Tribune is titled "So the President (Expletive) Hates My Girlfriend -- a nod to the back-and-forth between Rapinoe and Trump. Bird said she wanted to add "and 10 Other Things I Want You to Know Before the World Cup Semifinals."
"... but we ran out of space. My bad," Bird, guard for the Seattle Storm, wrote.
Rapinoe has been tearing it up at the FIFA Women's World Cup. She's scored five goals including all four U.S. goals in the knockout rounds. The U.S. faces England in the semifinals Tuesday.
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Bird started by stating how proud she is of Rapinoe and putting the focus on her accomplishments on the pitch.
"It’s about Megan coming through," she wrote.
Then, Bird addressed the elephant in the room.
"What’s it like to have the literal President of the literal United States (of literal America) go Full Adolescent Boy on your girlfriend?" Bird asks.
Rapinoe has frequently spoken out about politics and has criticized the Trump administration and its policies in the past. In a video excerpt of a January interview which recently was posted to social media, Rapinoe told a magazine "I'm not going to the (expletive) White House" and expressed doubts the team would even be invited.
Trump called out Rapinoe in response and said he would invite the team whether or not it wins the world cup. Rapinoe doubled down and urged her teammates to think about whether they should go. At least two have said they would not.
Bird used words like "weird" and "funny" to describe some of the reactions Rapinoe has received from Trump and his supporters. Bird also said some of it scares her. But she wrote that Rapinoe seems unfazed.
"Megan is at the boss level in the video game of knowing herself. She’s always been confident….. but that doesn’t mean she’s always been immune. She’s as sensitive as anyone — maybe more!! She’s just figured out how to harness that sensitivity," Bird wrote. "And I think Megan’s sensitivity is what drives her to fight for others. I think it’s what drove her to take a knee."
Most of the piece, though, focuses on Rapinoe the person and player -- her pink hair, her fashion choices, her dominance on the pitch and even calling her an (expletive) alien from another planet" for how good she is at penalty kicks.
Bird also has a section on equal pay for women in sports. The Women's National Team has been fighting to close a significant pay gap with their male counterparts who have not been nearly as successful in international play.
Bird and Rapinoe met in the Seattle sports scene years ago (Bird plays for the Seattle Storm, Rapinoe for the Reign FC which currently plays in nearby Tacoma), but reportedly hit it off at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The pair was the first same-sex couple to appear on the cover of ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue last year.