As the pink haired talisman of US Soccer celebrated her team's World Cup victory in a ticker tape parade in New Your City on Wednesday, she stayed true to her hashtag generating ways by declaring in a teammates Instagramn story, "I deserve this. I deserve all of this."
Important to note: Hepola has been fan of Rapinoe and the US Women's team. As he begun his segment on the video, he directly addressed her, saying, "I love your message. I love what you stand for. "
However, the self-congratulatory tone of the video did not sit well with Hepola (who perhaps not coincidentally in this case, is a Minnesota native. )
"Only you made a mistake," he said, addressing Rapinoe. "You let us in. It's really all about you."
After playing the clip, Hepola continued, quoting her as he began.
"I deserve this. I deserve this—Megan Rapinoe holding the World Cup trophy and a bottle of champagne. I deserve this. Not 'We,' not 'The team.' I deserve this. You did it alone, huh?"
Hepola also played a different clip of Rapinoe at the parade, this one from a moment when she addressed a crowd. "We have to be better. We have to love more, hate less. We got to listen more and talk less. We got to know that this is everybody's responsibility—every single person here," Rapinoe said.
For Hepola, the contrast between what she said in the Instagram video and what she said in the speech was glaring.
"So publicly in front of everybody, when the mic is on and not on some cell phone, it's 'we,''us' ... and then, when you get a little alcohol, you get in a private moment. It's, 'I,' 'I deserve this.' So really Megan Rapinoe—It's really all about you.."
Listen to the segment here: