US women's soccer defeat shows reactionary nihilism of the right's 'anti-wokeism'

The United States Women’s National Team was knocked out of the 2023 World Cup in the Round of 16 earlier this month. Their loss was surprising, but not necessarily shocking. What was shocking, however, was the almost orgiastic response to the loss from former President Donald Trump and right-wingers around the US, who gleefully celebrated the US team’s defeat and Megan Rapinoe’s missed kick as a victory in the reactionary war against so-called “wokeness.” As Edge of Sports host Dave Zirin argues in this “Choice Words” segment, the same people who vilify and attack trans athletes, and claim they’re doing so to defend the sanctity of women’s sports, are showing how much they also hate women’s sports and women “who dare not ‘know their place.’”