NYPD investigating Megan Rapinoe posters vandalized with homophobic slurs

The New York Police Department’s (NYPD) hate crimes task force said it was investigating after posters featuring U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe were vandalized with derogatory and homophobic slurs this week.

Police confirmed to USA Today on Wednesday that eight posters around the Bryant Park subway station in New York were cleaned or replaced with help from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority after the vandalism was discovered.

Rapinoe and her teammates were in New York for a ticker tape parade Wednesday to celebrate their win in the World Cup final over the weekend. The team took home the United States’s fourth championship victory on Sunday.{mosads}

NYPD Detective Hubert Reyes told USA Today that the vandalism involved posters of Rapinoe, the team’s captain who is gay, in uniform along with “homophobic comments” degrading the soccer star. They were discovered early Monday morning.

“Hate has no place in the transit system and we work hard to make the subway a welcoming, safe environment for everyone,” MTA deputy communications director Shams Tarek said in a statement to the newspaper. “We referred this to NYPD which responded to investigate, our maintenance teams got the posters cleaned and we will have them replaced with new ones if necessary.” 

Rapinoe was awarded the Golden Ball and Golden Boot during the World Cup for being the best player and top scorer. 

In a victory speech Wednesday, Rapinoe urged Americans to “love more” and “hate less.”