Out athlete Megan Rapinoe has dedicated
her TIME “Woman of the Year” award to the transgender community.
At TIME's second annual Women of the
Year gala in Los Angeles, Rapinoe, 37, dedicated her place on this
year's list to the transgender community.
“I am only here because of them,”
she told the crowd.
Noting the spate of anti-transgender
bills introduced across the United States, Rapinoe said, “We all
know what's going on in our country with the attempted genocide,
erasure of trans people.”
“The way [transgender people] refuse
to live their life any other way than completely whole is so
inspiring. I'm inspired by the invitation to be completely myself.”
“They offer us a full view of what it
means to be a human in the world. A whole opportunity to be the crazy
ass human beings that we are. That's a great gift,” she said.
Rapinoe called on women to “bring
everyone in and figure the rest out from there.”
“I think if being a woman has taught
me anything in this world, it's that make it expansive, don't leave
anybody behind,” she added.