A US survey has revealed that a whopping 45 per cent of Americans want Subway to drop Megan Rapinoe as its brand ambassador amid fierce backlash.
Rapinoe and her US teammates took the knee ahead of kick-off during the women’s national team’s matches at Tokyo 2020 this summer.
However, the 36-year-old winger was slammed by the likes of former US President Donald Trump for advocating “woke politics” at the Olympics.
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Not all US players took the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, with former US international Carli Lloyd choosing to stand instead.
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- Donald Trump Jr ruthlessly mocks Megan Rapinoe over 'woke politics' after US women's Olympics defeat
Subway franchises were reportedly in talks over axing Rapinoe from TV adverts after her support for taking the knee sparked significant controversy with Americans.
Now, Piplsay found in its survey that a huge number of Americans were in favour of the US international being dropped by Subway.
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The online survey, which polled 30,790 Americans, asked those who took part if the fast-food chain should submit to the “pressure and drop Megan as the face of the brand.”
The market research company’s findings revealed that 45 per cent of Americans voted yes, while 36 per cent said no and 19 per cent were not sure.
However, Piplsay’s survey also found that 35 per cent said that it “matters a lot” who the brand ambassador is for their favourite company.
Meanwhile, 33 per cent of the Americans polled said it “does not matter at all” and 32 per cent admitted it “matters somewhat.”
According to Piplsay, 61 per cent of men felt that the protest against Subway over Rapinoe’s divisive actions was ‘justified.’
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The aforementioned sentiment isn’t felt the same way by the women polled in the survey, with only 39 per cent agreeing that the boycott was appropriate.
“American fast-food chain Subway has been facing customer backlash and boycotts since its brand ambassador Megan Rapinoe took the knee during the National Anthem at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics,” Piplsay wrote in its report.
“The vocal star, often referred to as the Colin Kaepernick of the women’s soccer world, has been deemed anti-American, prompting Subway franchisees across the country to demand a nixing of her TV ads.”
The United States women's team took home a bronze medal at the Summer Olympics after a 4-3 victory over Australia.
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However, Trump has since reignited his rivalry with Rapinoe and called her out for spending “too much time thinking about radical left politics” and not focusing on football.
Rapinoe has since hit back at the 75-year-old American and insisted it was a “sad dig into an old bag.”
Ex-US international Hope Solo has also claimed that she watched former teammate Rapinoe “almost bully players into kneeling.”
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Megan Rapinoe, United States, Olympics, Football