Megan Rapinoe seemingly noticed her fiancée, Sue Bird, taking photos of her in the crowd and quickly smiled for the camera, while attending the President Medal of Freedom ceremony on Thursday.
The 37-year-old soccer player and 16 others received the nation’s highest civilian honour, with the award being presented to them by President Joe Biden.
During the White House ceremony, the 41-year-old basketball player sat in the audience to support her partner’s achievement. As documented in a video of the event, shared via Twitter, Bird could be seen sitting in her row and holding up her phone.
Although she continued to hold her device up and towards Rapinoe, in order to take a photo, the soccer star didn’t notice, at first, as she was clapping her hands and adjusting her jacket.
However, once the camera caught her eye, Rapinoe paused, before she appeared to smile in her chair and pose while looking at her significant other.
When Bird finished taking the photo, she looked down at her phone and appeared to begin laughing at the image she had taken.
On Twitter, fans have praised the sweet moment between the couple and expressed how “cute” they are.
“Stop it, Sue looking at the pic and then laughing at the end my gawd,” one wrote. “So cute.”
“Your LGBTQ moment of the day, courtesy of the Biden White House,” another added, while a third person said: “Sue looking at her phone and laughing WHAT…They’re so cute.”
During the ceremony, Biden also praised Rapinoe, who is the first soccer player to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“Beyond the World Cup titles and the Olympic medals, Megan is a champion for [an] essential American truth that everyone - everyone - is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect,” the President said.
While at the White House, Rapinoe paid tribute to WNBA star Brittney Griner, as she wore a cream suit with the athlete’s initials on it. Her jacket also had a flower sewn into the lapel.
“The most important part of today,” Rapinoe wrote on her Instagram Story, along with a photo of her outfit. “BG we love you.”
Griner has been detained in Russia since arrested in February and pleaded guilty in a Russian court on 7 July to drug charges that could sentence her to 10 years in prison. While playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg in the Russian Women’s Basketball Premier League, she was arrested at the Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow, after vape canisters containing cannabis oil were allegedly found in her luggage.
The US state department previously designated Griner as wrongfully detained, and the White House said that Biden called the basketball player’s wife on 6 July to say that he was doing everything he could to make sure that Griner could be released, as soon as possible.
