Bend the knee to Megan: Rapinoe 'almost BULLIED' her team-mates into taking the knee during national anthem, goalkeeper Hope Solo reveals after Donald Trump called soccer star a 'woke leftist maniac'

Former US women's goalkeeper Hope Solo has launched a withering attack on star player Megan Rapinoe, claiming she's seen the activist 'almost bully' teammates into taking the knee. 

Rapinoe has been vocal on a range of political issues, with some critics - including former President Donald Trump - blaming Team USA's poor Olympic performance on her activism.

Solo, speaking on Goal's women's soccer podcast, was asked what she thought of claims that Rapinoe's behavior - including kneeling to protest racial injustice - had led to the favorite team to win an Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020 only taking home a bronze medal. She answered: 'It's tough.

Former US women's goalkeeper Hope Solo has claimed she's seen Megan Rapinoe (second left in 2016 stood beside teammate Alex Morgan) 'bully players' into taking the knee

Former goalkeeper Solo says Rapinoe persuades others to take the knee because she 'really wants to stand up for something in her particular way'

'I've seen Megan Rapinoe almost bully players into kneeling because she really wants to stand up for something in her particular way.

'But it's our right as Americans to do it whatever way we're comfortable with and I think that's really hard being on the main stage right now with so many political issues for athletes.

'There's a lot of pressure and ultimately at the end of the day our number one focus should and has always been to win first.'  

She also spoke on the wider issue on athletes taking the knee while the national anthem was playing at games, branding it a 'divisive' topic 

Solo said: 'Right now what I've seen is there's been so much debate about the kneeling, about the not kneeling. I know most people stand against discrimination,' she continued.

'And I live in the south, I live in a very conservative area here in North Carolina in the south. Obviously, I have friends on both sides of the aisle, but I think the kneeling thing can be very divisive.'

Solo also said that it is 'really hard being on the main stage right now with so many political issues for athletes'.

She was kicked off the US women's soccer team in August 2016 - a month before Rapinoe first took the knee at a game, after branding Swedish rivals 'cowards' following a game at the Rio Olympics. 

Solo did not explain how she'd seen her former captain pressure teammates into taking the knee.

But she said she was still in regular contact with them, and went on to make a series of digs which implied the team's poor performance was because of political activism. 

Solo explained: 'I've reached out to a couple of the players via text. I always tend to speak to them more during world championships,' Solo said. 'Whether it's good or bad, you know, I think a lot of players like to reach out to those who have been through it.'

USA midfielder Carli Lloyd is congratulated by goalkeeper Hope Solo and midfielder Megan Rapinoe after scoring a goal during the final match between the US and Japan during their 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

Solo claims she had 'been there' for a few of her teammates through the 'highs and lows' of the tournament. 

'I can tell you, it was pretty low,' she stated. 'It was pretty low once they realized they weren't going to be in the gold medal match, it was a very sad time for them.

'I think a sense of shock, also a sense looking back not so much of a shock -- for a number of reasons that are internal amongst the team. 

'So I think, you know, when you look into the mirror, yeah, it might be shocking at first. But when you look in the mirror, you realize there are things that needed to change and things that should have been different. A lot of players went through a reckoning within themselves, and within the team.'

Meanwhile, social media users have expressed their support for Solo, arguing that they too believe Rapinoe to be a bully.

'Finally someone has spoken about the bully Megan Rapinoe. You can tell she is a bully and a gloryhound. Good for you Hope Solo,' Carmine Sabia, managing editor of the Federalist Papers, tweeted.

'There it is folks. @mPinoe is in fact a bully. Cancel this psycho already,' wrote Twitter user Cathy SaidIt.

'Megan Rapinoe is a propagandist and probably a bully,' sports media company Outkick tweeted.

Several social media users have expressed their support for Solo, arguing that they too believe Rapinoe to be a bully

Amongst her allegations against Rapione, Solo also noted that the team should be proud of their victory at the Tokyo games - but focus solely on their playing to ensure they qualify for the next Olympics in 2023. 

'They fought and they got their bronze and they should be very proud,' Solo said. 'They're going to have to look, in the next to years, look internally to see what's wrong, and come out on top for that 2023 game.'

'This is probably one of the most talented US teams we will ever see. So to have so much talent on our side and not win the gold medal when that's a part of our rich history, you know it can, it can absolutely be seen as a failure. But it has to be turned around. We have to recognize the problem, see what went wrong and fix them in a fast two years. These players want to fix the problems, get back on the main stage and prove they are the best team in the world,' Solo explained.

The former goalkeeper also argued that winning bronze was a 'failure for the American side' because the USWNT expects gold in every tournament. 

'That's the culture of the US women's national team and that should never change,' Solo said. 

'We've been on top with less quality of players, that's what's crazy. This team is by far the most talented of any team that I've ever witnessed. That's the hard part, now they have to play together though -- that might be the hard part.'

Solo also commented on the team's activism, arguing that while the team has been called 'divisive and inclusive,' she believes the 'most important thing' is that the players stand up for 'federal law'. 

'Federal law in the US stands for the Equal Pay Act since 1962...and we still don't have equal pay here in the United States. So, for me, that's something that shouldn't be divisive. Fighting for something that's been policy for over 60 years, I think that's a positive thing,' she said. 

Rapinoe and the rest of the women's soccer team have repeatedly drawn the ire of conservatives in recent months because of their outspoken activism

Rapinoe has been a vocal advocate for equal pay and other social issues in recent years, including LGBTQ rights, while she has also sparred with Donald Trump on Twitter. 

The 36-year-old has also been a supporter of the taking the knee movement as players have thrown their weight behind the campaign against racial injustice around the world. 

Rapinoe first took a knee during the national anthem in September 2016 at a match in Ohio against Thailand.

At that time, Solo was no longer a member of the team after having called members of Sweden's team 'a bunch of cowards' at the Rio Olympics.

Solo was terminated from the USWNT in August 2016 on grounds of 'conduct that is counter to the organization's principles'. She was also suspended from the women's national team for six months.

At the time, Rapinoe had said she was 'really disappointed' by Solo's comments. 

Her suspension and contract termination were direct result of the 'critical comments' Solo made after the United States was eliminated by Sweden in the quarterfinals of the Rio Olympics, the New York Times reported following the incident.  

The incident involving Sweden followed a string of controversies surrounding Solo. She was arrested in 2014 for allegedly assaulting two family members and served a 30-day suspension in 2015 after her husband was arrested for drunk driving in a borrowed team van. Solo was reportedly with him in the vehicle.

In a statement released by her publicist, Solo claimed she was 'saddened' by US Soccer's decision to terminate her contract, arguing:

'I could not be the player I am without being the person I am, even when I haven't made the best choices or said the right things. My entire career, I have only wanted the best for this team, for the players and the women's game and I will continue to pursue these causes with the same unrelenting passion with which I play the game.' 

During her interview with Goal, Solo also commented on the team's recent Olympic stint. She said she had been in contact with her former teammates, offering support during the games

Now, Solo, who made over 200 appearances in goal for the US women's team, has claimed Rapinoe forces her team-mates to join her in protesting these issues, including taking the knee. 

Solo also argued that the rhetoric surrounding the USWNT has been 'divisive and inclusive'.

'I guess it's kind of where we are in politics in this day and age,' she said.

However, some critics are poking holes in Solo's claims, highlighting that she was kicked off the team in August 2016 - a month before Rapinoe first took the knee at a game. 

'One bonus benefit to the blind, fascist POV of Clay Travis is that his sh***y site doesn't even fact-check the easiest things,' tweeted sports and political commentator Keith Olbermann. He was referring to Travis's firm Outkick, which was among those blasting Rapinoe in the wake of Solo's claim. 

'USWNT didn't start kneeling until after Hope Solo was KICKED OFF the team after assaulting her nephew in a drunken rage.'

Critics, including sports and political commentator Keith Olbermann, are poking holes in Solo's claims, noting that she wasn't a member of the team when Rapinoe started kneeling

DailyMail.com has contacted Solo's agent for further comment.

According to Newsweek, Rapinoe is recognized as one of the 'most prominent   national athletes' to follow Colin Kaepernick in the kneeling movement, which he started in response to racial inequality and police brutality.

Rapinoe is engaged to US women's basketball player Sue Bird , who also played at the Olympics

But the decision by the US women's team to shine a light on those issues once again came in for criticism during the recent Tokyo Olympics, at which the Americans won the bronze medal. 

Donald Trump was among those criticizing them, calling them 'leftist maniacs' and 'wokesters' after their underwhelming performance in Japan. He also took aim at Rapinoe, referring to her as the 'woman with the purple hair.' 

Rapinoe and many of her teammates have also pushed for equal pay with their male counterparts and preemptively refused to visit the Trump White House to celebrate their 2019 World Cup win.  

'I'm not going to the f------ White House,' Rapinoe said at the time, adding 'We're not gonna be invited.'

Trump lashed out at Rapinoe on Twitter the day after:

'Megan should WIN first before she TALKS!' the ex-president raged before the game, adding that the team wasn't invited yet but 'I am not inviting the TEAM, win or lose.'

'Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team.'

The US team were slammed by American conservatives after their semi-final defeat by Canada

Earlier this month, Rapinoe fired back at the US team's critics after their humiliating semi-final loss to Canada was celebrated by American conservatives, who claimed they didn't work hard enough and missed out on gold because of their 'woke politics'.  

'We have been very successful for a long time, but it's not like we just go out there and kick back and just crush every . This is hard, it's really hard!' she said. 

The soccer star, who is engaged to US women's basketball player Sue Bird, added that the team did their utmost to defend its Olympic title, saying: 'You come, you play the game, you want to win, you want to win every game, you want to win.'  

The US women's team went into the Olympics as the favorites for gold but suffered a shock defeat by Canada, leaving them with the bronze medal after beating Australia. 

Former President Trump insisted the squad would have claimed gold, if not for their 'woke', 'leftist' ideologies.   

'If our soccer team, headed by a radical group of Leftist Maniacs, wasn't woke, they would have won the Gold Medal instead of the Bronze,' he said in the statement released through his Save America 45 PAC. 

'Woke means you lose, everything that is woke goes bad, and our soccer team certainly has. 

'There were, however, a few Patriots standing. Unfortunately, they need more than that respecting our Country and National Anthem. They should replace the wokesters with Patriots and start winning again.' 

Former President Donald Trump issued a statement about the team's bronze-medal finish, insisting they 'would have won gold' if they weren't 'woke'  

'There's a lot of pressure and ultimately at the end of the day our number one focus should and always has been to win first,' Solo told podcaster Seth Vertelney.

'And unfortunately, a lot of those -- we're carrying the world on our back these days, a lot of athletes. You look at what LeBron James is doing and it feels like he's carrying the world here on his back for youth here in the United States. There's a lot of outside pressures, but at the end of the day I think we have to remember that we're standing for what's federal law in the US, and that's the most important thing.'

James is known for his activism and community involvement. His foundation, the LeBron James Family Foundation, runs the nonprofit I Promise School in Akron, Ohio, where the Lakers star grew up. 

The school's mission is 'to positively affect the lives of children and young adults through education and co-curricular educational initiatives'. The organization also believes that education and an active, healthy lifestyle is the 'pivotal to the development of children and young adults'.

The four-time NBA champion has also been vocal about athletes deserving the right to demonstrate their beliefs. Fox News reported that James recently took aim aim at the International Olympic Committee for their rule barring athletes from political protests on the medal stand and during competition, arguing that the rule was 'silencing athletes'.

James has also been spotted wearing Black Lives Matter t-shirts at games and kneeling during the national anthem.