She wasn't scheduled for the US soccer players' press conference, but suddenly Megan Rapinoe was sitting in front of the advertising board.

"I wish we could just talk about football today," said the 36-year-old in greeting, but the sport took a back seat.

"The verdict on 'Roe v.

Wade' is paramount above all else,” said the forward firmly.

It was the start of a long angry speech by a desperate woman.

The US Supreme Court has overturned the nationwide right to abortion.

The 1973 decision “Roe v.

Wade” allowed women to have abortions up to about 24 weeks gestation.

This has now been rejected by the Supreme Court, and the individual US states are now making their own decisions. Protection for women – no longer guaranteed.

Rapinoe: "Will exacerbate inequalities"

"It's sad and cruel," summed up the former world footballer Rapinoe, who once again acted as the mouthpiece of many people.

A mix of disappointment, sadness and anger spoke out of her, and the headlights were reflected in the tears in her eyes.

Rapinoe is an active advocate for human rights, and last year she and 499 other US athletes signed a letter in support of abortion rights.

Now the Olympic champion fears the consequences of the new verdict.

"It's going to exacerbate so many of the existing inequalities in our country," she said.

The decision does not make “a single child safer, certainly not.

And it doesn't make a single woman safer, not even in terms of pregnancy."

At the end of her almost nine-minute speech, Rapinoe appealed to everyone's "compassion" and "humanity": Everyone should understand, she emphasized, "that just because I believe in something doesn't mean that everyone else has to do it too".

Tennis player Coco Gauff was also disappointed.

"It feels like history is repeating itself," said the 18-year-old French Open finalist before the tennis highlight in Wimbledon.

"I continue to encourage people to raise their voices and not feel discouraged because we can definitely make change and hopefully that will happen." Superstar Serena Williams, 22 years his senior, wanted to address the issue before the start of the grass classic however, do not comment.

Basketball superstar LeBron James shared some comments on Twitter about the decision and its impact on black women.

The Los Angeles Lakers pro commented, "It's absolutely about power and control." The league bosses of the men's and women's NBA released a joint statement.

Women should make their own decisions about their health and future.

Freedom should be protected, they demanded.

Formula 1 record world champion Lewis Hamilton, who is politically active in the fight for human rights and against oppression, was “disgusted” by the verdict.

"This decision will be made by the weakest among us," emphasized the 37-year-old Briton.