Sue Bird Praises Girlfriend Megan Rapinoe, Slams Trump's Attacks

WNBA star Sue Bird wrote a loving piece called "So the President F*cking Hates My Girlfriend" honoring soccer champion Megan Rapinoe for taking on Donald Trump's Twitter rant while also leading the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT) to a win against France in the World Cup quarterfinals.

Bird's story in The Players' Tribune offers insight into Rapinoe, who made headlines last week when a reporter at the World Cup in France asked her if she was excited about the possibility of going to the White House and she responded, "I'm not going to the fucking White House."

Her response caused Donald Trump to unleash a tweet storm at her in which he accused her of being unpatriotic. In a press conference, Rapinoe doubled down on her refusal to visit Trump's White House and then she went on to score two goals against France in their home country.

"It would take the President of the United States going on a hate-filled Twitter spree trolling my girlfriend while she was putting American soccer, women's sports, equal pay, gay pride and TRUE LOVE on her back, all at once, scoring two majestic goals to lead Team USA to a thrilling victory over France and a place in the World Cup SEMIFINALS, for me to ever even think about writing again," Bird wrote about being spurred into writing by the situation Rapinoe's situation.

"First of all, I've gotta get this on the record, if it's not already clear: I'm SO proud of Megan! And the entire damn USWNT," Bird wrote.

With the gravity of having the person who sits in the Oval Office attack one's partner, Bird then addressed Trump's outburst.

"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 wrote. "It's WEIRD. I'd say I actually had a pretty standard reaction to it: which was to freak out a little."

"That's one thing that you kind of have to know about me and Megan: our politics are similar -- after we won the WNBA title in Seattle last season, no way were we going to the (f*cking) White House! -- but our dispositions are not," Bird wrote. "As we've been talking through a lot of this stuff as it's been happening to her, I'll be honest. Some of it scares the sh*t out of me!"

An Olympian who kick-started her career playing for the University of Connecticut in the late '90s, Bird went on to mention the Trump administration's policies, many of which have been detrimental to the rights of LGBTQ people.

"Some of it is kind of funny. It would be ridiculous to the point of laughter if it wasn't so gross. (And if his legislations and policies weren't ruining the lives of so many innocent people.)," she wrote about the president tweeting at an athlete.

"What's legitimately scary is how it's not just his tweets. Suddenly, you've got all these MAGA peeps getting hostile in your mentions. And you've got all these crazy blogs writing terrible things about this person you care so much about. And now they're doing takedowns of Megan on Fox News," Bird continued.

"But then Megan... You just cannot shake that girl. She's going to do her thing, at her own damn speed, to her own damn rhythm, and she's going to apologize to exactly NO ONE for it," Bird continued.

"Megan's sensitivity is what drives her to fight for others. I think it's what drove her to take a knee [the first athlete outside of the NFL to publicly protest police brutality during the National Anthem]," Bird continued.

"The Megan you're seeing now? It's the stronger version of the one who knelt in the first place. All the threats, all the criticism, all the fallout -- coming out on the other side of that is what makes her seem so unfazed by the assholes of the world now."

Bird and Rapinoe have been together at least since the summer of 2017, when the basketball champ came out publicly in conjunction with announcing they were in a relationship. Nearly a year later they became the first female couple to pose nude together in ESPN's Body Issue.

After Trump attacked Rapinoe on Twitter, the soccer champ affirmed she would not visit his White House.

"I don't think I would want to go [to the White House] and I would encourage my teammates to think hard about lending that platform or having that co-opted by an administration that doesn't feel the same way, that doesn't fight for the same things that we fight for," Rapinoe said.

The USWNT faces off with England in the semifinals today.