While many Americans were thrilled over the World Cup victory of the U.S. Women’s National Team, some conservatives weren’t so thrilled about the team’s outspoken players, especially standout star Megan Rapinoe, a lesbian who has made her disapproval of President Donald Trump extremely clear. Janet Boynes, who spoke at the recent “ex-gay” Freedom March in Washington, D.C., published a column in Charisma on Friday saying that Rapinoe’s emphatic declaration that she would not visit the White House “proves we are in a spiritual battle.”
Like many Religious Right leaders and activists, Boynes was sharply critical of President Barack Obama. However, during the Trump administration, she quotes Bible verses encouraging people to submit to their leaders. From her column at Charisma, a Trump-promoting media outlet with a largely Pentecostal audience:
I am convinced that we are in a spiritual battle. We need God more than ever. Hebrew 13:17 says, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will must give an account. Let them do this with joy and not complaining, for that would not be profitable to you." When we say we love God, we should also want to obey His commandments.
Those who do not submit to God will not submit to those in authority. Rapinoe is asking her team to support her by not going to the White House. We get the sense that she feels the need to control everyone around her.
Boynes declared in Charisma that an invitation to the White House is “the highest honor available in this country”—an assertion with which Rapinoe and at least some of her teammates strongly disagree.
Boynes, who calls herself a former lesbian, also expressed her contempt for the LGBTQ movement: “I am sick and tired of the homosexual community, with an entitlement mentality, crying like babies just because their views are not supported.” Boynes has called homosexuality “a life of hell” to which Satan entices people.
Boynes gave Rapinoe no credit for speaking her mind, saying the soccer star is “setting a bad example” for the children who admire her. “She is demonstrating intolerance and hate and is teaching hostility to children”—all for criticizing President Trump and saying she wouldn’t appear with him at the White House. Boynes says “they should kick her off the team for not only disrespecting her team but our country.”
Boynes of course, is free to express her opinion. That’s just what Rapinoe is doing—not only regarding President Trump but also on the pay gap between players on the U.S. men’s national team and the far more successful women’s team. And for that, Rapinoe is providing an excellent example to her fans and fellow Americans.
