{"id":603225,"date":"2026-04-24T07:54:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:54:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/603225\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T07:54:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:54:17","slug":"megan-rapinoe-calls-on-traditional-wnba-media-to-be-replaced-with-those-who-understand-queer-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/603225\/","title":{"rendered":"Megan Rapinoe calls on traditional WNBA media to be replaced with those who \u2018understand queer culture\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s always about identity politics for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/megan-rapinoe\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Megan Rapinoe;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Megan Rapinoe<\/a>. She&#8217;s true to her craft.<\/p>\n<p>Flying solo on the latest episode of the &#8220;A Touch More&#8221; podcast \u2014 the show she formerly co-hosted with ex-girlfriend Sue Bird \u2014 Rapinoe attacked <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/wnba\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Wnba;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Wnba<\/a> media members as out-of-touch and &#8220;inherently sexist, racist [and] misogynistic.&#8221; That was in response to a question recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/paige-bueckers-azzi-fudd-finally-acknowledge-dallas-wings-awkward-pr-shutdown\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:presented to Azzi Fudd;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">presented to Azzi Fudd<\/a>, who was taken as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA, about her dating status. Fudd is in a relationship with Dallas Wings teammate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/paige-bueckers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Paige Bueckers;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Paige Bueckers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Azzi Fudd posing with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected by Dallas Wings\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1242\" height=\"699\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img w-full w-full h-auto\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/c79f43a902576da3b62ee72f0f70ad58.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Azzi Fudd poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall by the Dallas Wings during the 2026 WNBA Draft at The Shed in New York City on April 13, 2026.<\/p>\n<p> (Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Rapinoe says she didn&#8217;t have a problem with Kevin Sherrington, a white columnist from the Dallas Morning News, asking Fudd about the relationship, but at the same time she called on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) to be used to rebuild the WNBA media corps.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/link.podtrac.com\/dmwdd_article\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Zero Bs. Just Dakich. Take The Don&#039;t @ Me Podcast On The Road. Download Now!;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Zero Bs. Just Dakich. Take The Don&#8217;t @ Me Podcast On The Road. Download Now!<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I do think we are watching legacy or establishment media come in and sort of like do business as usual and it just feels like it needs more understanding and nuance,&#8221; Rapinoe said of WNBA reporters who are covering the league like it&#8217;s the NBA. &#8220;Like it&#8217;s not quite hitting. I think anybody who&#8217;s been in the sport a long time just sort of has that feeling of like that&#8217;s like, I, I get why you&#8217;re doing that. You do that (with) men&#8217;s sports, but like it&#8217;s not really quite hitting here.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/megan-rapinoe-criticizes-trump-admins-immigration-enforcement-tactics-after-ice-shooting\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Megan Rapinoe Criticizes Trump Admin&#039;s Immigration Enforcement Tactics After Ice Shooting;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Megan Rapinoe Criticizes Trump Admin&#8217;s Immigration Enforcement Tactics After Ice Shooting<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS\/mvaj7wvj\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Read On The Fox News App;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Read On The Fox News App<\/a><\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s the solution? Replace the traditional media with woke media.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;How do we collectively protect and craft the future of this space as the people who care about what the WNBA has built and enjoy the culture that it brings? Because let&#8217;s be honest, the reason why the WNBA is out front in culture is because of how rooted it is in Black and queer culture and around equality for women and progress in all of those realms,&#8221; she continued.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Megan Rapinoe, Brittney Griner, Cherelle Griner, and Sue Bird posing together at Climate Pledge Arena\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1242\" height=\"828\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img w-full w-full h-auto\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/b96367f625dc2551ab5517f1be0f4cd0.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Megan Rapinoe, Brittney Griner, Cherelle Griner and Sue Bird pose for a photo after the Seattle Storm game against the Atlanta Dream at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington, on Aug. 13, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So how do we contribute to an ecosystem that can sustain player authenticity?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Click Here To Download The Fox News App;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Click Here To Download The Fox News App<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The 40-year-old retired <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/soccer\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:soccer;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">soccer<\/a> player is calling on the WNBA to bring in PR teams, managers, agents and &#8220;media members that can understand queer culture and that have an imagination around how to give these players media platforms that work for them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Instead of having the players answer tough questions here and there, Rapinoe wants these new queer-friendly reporters and PR teams to create &#8220;talking points that protect&#8221; WNBA players &#8220;while also allowing them to be out and proud and not make them feel unsafe.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Original article source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/megan-rapinoe-calls-traditional-wnba-media-replaced-understand-queer-culture\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Megan Rapinoe calls on traditional WNBA media to be replaced with those who \u2018understand queer culture\u2019;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">Megan Rapinoe calls on traditional WNBA media to be replaced with those who \u2018understand queer culture\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s always about identity politics for Megan Rapinoe. She&#8217;s true to her craft. Flying solo on the latest&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":603226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[3444,16393,5550,2834,66039,2833,262423,1839,4676,99,61391,262424,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-603225","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-atlanta-dream","9":"tag-azzi-fudd","10":"tag-brittney-griner","11":"tag-dallas-wings","12":"tag-megan-rapinoe","13":"tag-paige-bueckers","14":"tag-queer-culture","15":"tag-seattle","16":"tag-seattle-storm","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-sue-bird","19":"tag-the-dallas-morning-news","20":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=603225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/603226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=603225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=603225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=603225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}