WNBA star Sue Bird says Megan Rapinoe 'went out there and balled out' in World Cup

Sue Bird thinks Megan Rapinoe's performance during the Women's World Cup, where the United States national team won its second consecutive title, was "the ultimate silencer" to President Donald Trump.

Bird, a WNBA veteran playing for the Seattle Storm and girlfriend to the USWNT star, spoke with USA Today about Rapinoe's play and the attention she got from the president during the tournament — where Rapinoe walked away with the highest honors, the Golden Boot and Golden Ball.

Rapinoe was a target of Trump's tweets after she said she would not visit the White House if the team won the tournament.

....in our Country’s history, and the poverty index is also best number EVER), leagues and teams love coming to the White House. I am a big fan of the American Team, and Women’s Soccer, but Megan should WIN first before she TALKS! Finish the job! We haven’t yet....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2019

“Megan let her play speak for itself,” Bird said. “President Trump likes to play games on Twitter to (cater) to his followers. For him to go at Megan and twist it and flip it, then saying they better win, it’s something everyone should be able to see through. Obviously, she went out there and balled out."

Rapinoe, who was a part of the second-place 2011 team and played an integral role in the two most recent championships, scored a goal in the World Cup final as the US defeated the Netherlands, 2–0.

Bird, who has sat out the first half of the WNBA season with injury and will likely miss the rest of the year, was in attendance.

“I saw firsthand what Megan had been through,” Bird said. “She had torn her ACL leading up to the (Rio) Olympics and then afterwards she knelt in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. A lot was happening where, it’s hard to believe now, but soccer could’ve been taken away from her. She overcame all that. She overcame so much and did it in insane fashion, not just on the field scoring goals, but off the field fighting the president.”

Rapinoe has been a vocal advocate for racial equality, pay equity and LGBTQ rights.