The New York Police Department said its hate crimes task force had launched an investigation after posters of soccer star Megan Rapinoe were vandalized with misogynistic comments and homophobic slurs at a Manhattan subway station.

According to USA Today, the defaced posters, which were located around the Bryant Park subway stop, were reported to authorities on Monday morning — two days before the U.S. women’s national soccer team celebrated its World Cup victory at a ticker-tape parade in the city. 

Rapinoe, the team’s co-captain, was awarded the tournament’s Golden Boot and Golden Ball trophies Sunday for being the Women’s World Cup’s top scorer and best player, respectively. Tens of thousands of people clogged the streets of Manhattan to celebrate the athlete and her teammates on Wednesday.

“Hate has no place in the transit system and we work hard to make the subway a welcoming, safe environment for everyone,” a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority told the New York Post of the vandalism. “We referred this to NYPD which responded to investigate. Our maintenance teams got the posters cleaned and we will have them replaced with new ones if necessary.”

Credit by - HUFFPOST

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