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NYPD investigating vandalism of Megan Rapinoe posters in NYC as possible hate crime

Eight posters were marked with derogatory statements at a subway station.

July 11, 2019, 11:54 AM

The New York City Police Department is investigating the vandalism on several posters of U.S. women's soccer team captain Megan Rapinoe as a possible hate crime.

Eight posters featuring Rapinoe, who is openly gay, were found marked with various homophobic statements at the mezzanine for the B train at the Bryant Park subway station on 42nd Street in Manhattan on Monday night, a police source told ABC News.

PHOTO: A man enters the 42nd Street-Bryant Park subway station on 6th Avenue on Sept. 3, 2018, in New York City.
A man enters the 42nd Street-Bryant Park subway station on 6th Avenue on Sept. 3, 2018, in New York City.
Gary Hershorn/Getty Images

The posters were found the day after the U.S. women's team defeated the Netherlands in Lyon, France, to win the 2019 FIFA World Cup.

The team celebrated their victory in a ticker-tape parade in downtown New York City on Wednesday.

PHOTO:Members of the U.S. women's soccer team, including Megan Rapinoe, left, and Alex Morgan, right, stand on a float before being honored with a ticker tape parade along the Canyon of Heroes in New York, July 10, 2019.
Members of the U.S. women's soccer team, including Megan Rapinoe, left, and Alex Morgan, right, stand on a float before being honored with a ticker tape parade along the Canyon of Heroes in New York, July 10, 2019.
Craig Ruttle/AP

During her parade speech, Rapinoe praised the diversity of her teammates.

"We have pink hair and purple hair. We have tattoos and dreadlocks. We got white girls and black girls and everything in between, straight girls and gay girls," she said to a cheering crowd.

PHOTO: Megan Rapinoe, center, and members of the U.S. women's national soccer team accept the award for best team at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles, July 10, 2019.
Megan Rapinoe, center, and members of the U.S. women's national soccer team accept the award for best team at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles, July 10, 2019.
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

The team traveled to Los Angeles later that day to attend the ESPY awards, where they won "Best Team."

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