The American Women’s Soccer team has been making headlines for its successful season, but one progressive paper in France feels the team is just “too white” to matter.
Le Monde, a daily progressive paper in France and one of the country’s most popular periodicals, recently published a piece that stated while the gayness of the team is good, the lack of racial diversity is not.
According to reporter Stéphanie Le Bars, the team has “become in the United States the symbol of the defense of sexual minorities and the equality of rights between men and women”. This is not enough, though; the team is insufficiently diverse.
According to Le Bars, the number of players who are “African-American or Métis… in proportion seems high”, in fact the “overwhelming majority of regular attendees are white players”. For Le Monde, this is a problem.
Plenty of Praise for Some Factors
Le Monde does not think that the soccer team is all bad. For starters, they give high praise to “Homosexual star Megan Rapinoe” for her statement that “You can not win without the gays on your team.” The paper also points to the team’s case against the United States Soccer Federation that employs them. The team is seeking equal pay with soccer federation male players.
Other highlights that Le Monde praises the women’s team for include the players’ outspoken feelings against President Donald Trump. Le Monde points out that many individual players have expressed derision for the nation’s leader; this is also a point in the player’s favor.
Team member Ali Kreiger recently posted: “In regards to the ‘President’s’ tweet today, I know women who you cannot control or grope anger you, but I stand by [Rapinoe] & will sit this one out as well. I don’t support this administration nor their fight against LGBTQ+ citizens, immigrants & our most vulnerable.”
According to President Trump, the team would be welcome at the White House, just as male teams in other sports have been – and he is a fan:
“I am now inviting the TEAM, win or lose,” Trump tweeted in response. “Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team. Be proud of the Flag that you wear. The USA is doing GREAT!”
This tweet came in response to US soccer team leader Megan Rapinoe’s statements about the current administration and her willingness to visit the White House.
He continued:
“….in our Country’s history, and the poverty index is also best number EVER), leagues and teams love coming to the White House. I am a big fan of the American Team, and Women’s Soccer, but Megan should WIN first before she TALKS! Finish the job! We haven’t yet….”
Not Good Enough
Despite the progressive-approved Trump bashing, refusal to visit the White House and high number of homosexual players, the US Soccer team is simply not good enough for Le Monde, because there are too many white players.
France’s own teams, including the World Cup winning men’s team, also have a lack of diversity, but in the “right” way for Le Monde – white players are an extreme minority on the national team, despite being a majority in the general population of France.
