Megan Rapinoe’s final game of her career did not end as she planned when she went down during the first few minutes with a no-contact injury during the Women’s Soccer League Championship game between the OL Reign and Gotham FC. Rapinoe was reported to have torn her Achilles tendon after the game and went on to have successful surgery on the tear the following Monday. She had mentioned at a press conference that she would reach out to Aaron Rodgers to receive the same medical care he’d received for his own season-ending tear. 

However, it was not the injury or Rapinoe’s official retirement that has kept her in the news. During the conference, Rapinoe stated she believed the injury confirmed that God does not exist. “I’m not a religious person or anything and if there was a god, like, this is proof that there isn’t. This is f—ed up. It’s just f—ed up. Six minutes in and I eat my Achilles,” she said. She also added that she’d heard a “huge pop” as she injured herself. “Just a huge pop, and I can’t even feel where the Achilles is, but pretty sure I tore my Achilles,” she said, calling it “The worst possible outcome.”

Rapinoe, who is famous for pushing for equal pay for the women’s soccer team and kneeling during the national anthem, faced swift rebukes regarding her comments about God. “Narcissism at its finest,” wrote Sage Steele on X. Steele is a former ESPN commentator who got into hot water with the company after discussing COVID-19 vaccine mandates and men identifying as women playing in women’s sports. Rapinoe had previously called Steele “transphobic” after she made statements supporting former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines. Gaines has made headlines pushing to keep women’s sports fair and has spoken out about Leah Thomas, a man who identifies as a woman, beating biological women in competitions. Piers Morgan went even harder against Rapinoe, writing in an op-ed for The New York Post, “I’d say it’s more like definitive proof that God does exist — and shares my view that this arrogant, pink-haired, self-promoting prima donna didn’t deserve the glorious send-off she so desperately craved.” He criticized Rapinoe for her inconsistencies, such as taking a knee during the national anthem to protest racism yet cashing checks from Qatar, a sponsor of the World Cup, despite the country’s outlawing of being gay. He ended his criticism of Rapinoe by quoting the Bible. “And given she thinks what happened to her was somehow all God’s fault, let me offer her some biblical words of advice from Proverbs 16:18: ‘Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.’” 

 Writing for The Washington Times, CBN’s Billy Hallowell suggested a correct view of God. “Too often, we treat God like a genie, begging and pleading for our wishes to be granted while openly chiding or internally doubting the Lord when reality doesn’t match our demands,” he wrote. He then pointed to Senator Tim Scott’s recent announcement that he had suspended his presidential campaign. Noting how Scott had quoted Romans 8:28, Hallowell wrote, “Rather than blaming God, Mr. Scott fully submitted to the Lord’s purposes for his life — a humble and critical reaction in the midst of incredible disappointment. Despite wanting the presidency, he recognized it wasn’t God’s plan for him right now.” He encouraged Rapinoe to have gratitude for her successes. “Our lives might not go how or where we want, but we can have faith that, through trust and seeking God’s hand, we’ll end up exactly where God intended.”