Megan Rapinoe, Simone Biles to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom

President Joe Biden on Friday announced that soccer player Megan Rapinoe and gymnast Simone Biles are among 17 new recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Biles and Rapinoe are just the fifth and sixth female athletes to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, joining Billie Jean King, Pat Summitt, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, and Annika Sorenstam.

Rapinoe, a two-time Olympic medalist and two-time World Cup champion, is the first soccer player to receive the award. The White House release also credits her advocacy for “gender pay equality, racial justice, and LGBTQI+ rights.”

“I’m just shook,” said Rapinoe. “I’m just totally overwhelmed and completely honored by this.”

Biles, a seven-time Olympic medalist and one of the most decorated gymnasts of all time, is also credited for her advocacy surrounding “athletes’ mental health and safety, children in the foster care system, and victims of sexual assault.”

A total of 647 people have previously been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom since the award was established in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy. The full list of this year’s recipients can be found here.

The awards will be presented at the White House on July 7, 2022.

Rapinoe, who is currently in Mexico for the 2022 Concacaf W Championship  — the major qualifier for the qualifier for the 2023 Women’s World Cup and 2024 Paris Olympics — will miss the U.S. team’s game vs. Mexico in order to accept the award.

“Megan is of course very disappointed about missing a game, but I told her to go,” said U.S. women’s soccer head coach Vlatko Andonovski. “She has to go. This is a once in a lifetime honor, she deserves it, and she will be representing herself, her team and her