New York City police are looking into a possible hate crime committed against U.S. women's soccer star Megan Rapinoe.
Posters of Rapinoe were defaced with derogatory slurs in the NYC subway system in midtown Manhattan, which has prompted an investigation by the city's Hate Crime Task Force, according to ESPN.
Rapinoe, who is openly gay, has been vocal in her support of the LGBTQ community and the need for gender equality.
She hasn't publicly commented on the messages on the posters, which have since been cleaned up.
Rapinoe and the rest of the U.S. women's team were in New York City Wednesday for the championship parade after winning the 2019 Women's World Cup.
She gave an empowering speech calling for everyone to be kinder to each other, and said the diversity on their team is what made it so great.
“Just (a) shoutout to the teammates … This group is so resilient. Is so tough. Has such a sense of humor. Is just so badass,” Rapinoe said Wednesday. “There’s nothing that can faze this group. We’re chillin’. We’ve got tea sippin’. We’ve got celebrations. We have pink hair and purple hair. We have tattoos and dreadlocks. We’ve got white girls and black girls, and everything in between. Straight girls and gay girls.”
Rapinoe hasn't commented on the posters nor the derogatory language.
