survivors

Greetings, Meteor readers,

It came to my attention this morning that we are pretty much at the end of February. This is terrible news. It’s not that I don’t like March; I’m just utterly unprepared for its two major holidays: Women’s March Madness and Ramadan. Selection Sunday is less than a month away, and I will be hosting another Meteor bracket. My bestie, Em, the Meteor’s reigning champion, will be defending their crown, so start thinking about your picks. Glory and a Meteor tote are on the line.

In today’s newsletter, we are headed to Spain for the verdict in the Luis Rubiales case. Plus, a moment of silence for a four-legged hero, another sneaky attack on abortion rights, and your weekend reading list.

Prayin’ and parlayin’,

Shannon Melero

WHAT'S GOING ON

Culpado: Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), has been found guilty of sexually assaulting Jennifer Hermoso during the 2023 World Cup. As a refresher, during the gold medal ceremony that year, Rubiales handed the medal to Hermoso, grabbed her by the back of the neck, and forcibly kissed her on the mouth in the middle of an international live broadcast. Despite Hermoso’s obvious shock—and her statement that she didn’t like it—the moment was downplayed by the RFEF, Spain’s coach, and eventually Hermoso herself. Accusations of pressure and coercion quickly swirled—in fact, Rubiales was also charged with coercion for allegedly pressuring Hermoso to say the kiss was consensual, though he was acquitted of that charge.

At the time, I wrote about the way The Kiss was a visual manifestation of what Spain’s women’s team had endured from RFEF in the lead-up to its first World Cup win—including an oppressive work environment perpetuated by the team’s coach, Jorge Vilda. Vilda and two other employees from the Federation were also charged with coercion but ultimately acquitted. Vilda is now the coach of Morocco’s women’s national team.

When I heard the news that Rubiales was guilty, I felt a jolt of happiness that was immediately replaced by the question so many soccer fans and players continue to ask themselves: What will it take to make the beautiful game a safe one for all athletes?

HERMOSO DURING A MATCH LAST FALL. (VIA GETTY IMAGES)  

While this guilty verdict is a victory, the consequences are small. Rubiales will not be seeing any jail time; his punishment is paying a €10,800 fine and being banned from coming within 200 meters of Hermoso. The verdict is also a drop in the bucket: Abuse is rampant in women’s soccer, everywhere from the international level to U.S. Soccer to youth leagues. It’s taking years—and in the case of the U.S. Women’s National Team, 20 years—for these tiny measures of justice to be handed out, and yet governing bodies refuse to act with the urgency the state of women’s soccer demands. In fact, just four days after The Kiss, the RFEF actually threatened to sue Hermoso and other players on the team who had signed a letter asking that Rubiales be fired from his position.

Meanwhile, Jenni Hermoso still has to work under the governance of RFEF and FIFA, which is contending with its own bevy of controversies. Her first World Cup gold is tainted, and what should have been a glorious experience instead links her forever with at man who assaulted her. “I’m a world champion but it seems that even to this day my life has been on standby,” Hermoso told the court during the trial. “I haven’t been able to live freely.”

AND: 

• TIME has announced its 2025 Women of the Year. This list of trailblazers includes Amanda Zurawski, who first told her story to The Meteor about being denied an abortion during her miscarriage and then sued Texas over it, and Meteor collective member Raquel Willis, who has worked tirelessly to safeguard the rights of trans people. Also receiving their flowers are French rape survivor Gisele Pelicot, the WNBA’s A’ja Wilson, and Gambian activist Fatou Baldeh.

• Extremist lawmakers in Missouri have proposed a bill, the Save MO Babies Act, which would create a registry of expectant mothers who are “at risk for seeking an abortion” and make that list available to prospective adoptive parents. “We’re looking at something like eHarmony for babies,” an adoption attorney told the House Children and Families Committee. 😮‍💨 First of all, adoption is not a solution to abortion; we’ve talked about this. Second, who defines whether someone is “at risk” of terminating? I can’t say it better than Rep. Raychel Proudie (D-MO) of the House Children and Families Committee: “This bill was trash.”

• Remember COVID? Well, that bolting-hutch of beastliness is still with us and a recent study has found that women between 40 and 54 are at greater risk of developing long COVID than men. Blame the estrogen.

• Yesterday Donald Trump berated Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a press briefing, falsely accusing him of starting the war in Russia. All of which sounds like it was whispered in his ear by Vladimir Putin, with whom he has reportedly been working on an end to the war. For a reminder of what this war is costing the real people on the ground, read this, from exactly two years ago, with The Meteor’s Anya Kurkina, who grew up in Ukraine and whose family still lives there. “All we have, unfortunately, is hope,” she said then. Still true.

• Hurricane, a Secret Service dog who was the most decorated K-9 in the White House, serving under multiple presidents, has died at the age of 15. In 2014, Hurricane wrestled a man to the ground after he jumped the fence at the White House and made it halfway across the North Lawn. This incident left Hurricane with damaged hips and he “never jumped the same,” his handler said. Hurricane retired two years later, was the recipient of the Secretary’s Award for Valor and the Distinguished Service Medal, and was a big gorgeous softie.

TOO PRECIOUS FOR THIS EARTH. (VIA GETTY IMAGES) 

• Venus Williams will be competing this year at Indian Wells after receiving a wild-card entry to the tournament. Despite being a seven-time Grand Slam champion, Williams has been absent from the court and is currently ranked 974th in the world. This may seem like a strange move for Indian Wells organizers, but regardless, I’m sat.

• Speaking of being sat, where will you be seated March 8 on International Women’s Day? Hopefully, it will be with us at the Brooklyn Museum for Meet the Moment 2025. You can find out more about the event and get tickets here. Come say hi!

WEEKEND READING 📚

On essential data: Rates of sepsis have gone up in Texas since the overturn of Roe. But the state doesn’t want you to know that. (ProPublica)

On the money train: There is a way to stop Elon Musk and his made-up job. But it comes with a hefty price tag. (The Intercept)

On going under the knife: One of the most dangerous states to give birth in is continuing to give first-time moms unnecessary C-sections. (Mississippi Today)

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