We Need to Talk About Korbin…

The Women’s soccer community has been known as a very LGBTQ+ safe place in more recent years, with the stereotype that most wosoc players are gay and whatnot, the community has a strong attachment to the sport and the culture, and many players have dedicated a lot of their career to ensuring the sanctity of the queer space for their queer fans. So it can be a little hard to have that fun gay bubble popped when a player or two come out as well… homophobic.

It’s not exactly a new thing to have certain players come out as homophobic especially since there were more and more out queer players in the last decade or so, there were going to be people who didn’t like it and sometimes those people came straight from the locker room. In 2017 Jaelene Hinkle, who was on the USWNT and with the NC Courage expressed her distaste for wearing Pride Jerseys and stated that the USWNT was not a safe space for Christians . A puzzling statement as many of the players are practicing Christians, who do everything from pre-game prayers to bible study, and have not stated such. The obvious conclusion is the use of religion as an excuse for homophobia.

You would think that the situation was squashed easily, especially with players speaking out and all that however in 2021 the NC Courage who had suspended Hinkle originally, resigned her. As if there was no damage done.

But that was almost 8 years ago, things have evolved, and homophobia is taken more seriously now right?

Unfortunately and honestly unsurprisingly, no.

Hinkle, while on the Courage, sat out of a 2022 regular season game due to her refusal to wear a Pride Jersey. And Hinkle isn’t the only problem.

Here’s where we get to 2024.

In March of 2024, Korbin Albert - a new USWNT prospect - was exposed for liking and reposting various homophobic and transphobic TikTok videos, which obciously caused an uproar in the womens soccer community. Our bubble was burst and worst of all there was little to no repurcussion. Albert stayed on the roster for the April SheBelieves tournament, and released an instagram story apology that lacked.. umph. And dissapeared in 24 hours.

The captains of the USWNT, Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan, released a press statement saying they were disappointed and that things would be dealt with internally. Okay…..

Fast forward now, after quite a lot of booing at games (I will say I was tempted to participate), Albert was included in the Olympic Roster. Great.

I hope the disappointment is coming across. And I know I’m not alone in it, especially among professional players. Christen Press and Tobin Heath covered the Albert situation in the second episode of their latest season of the RE-Cap show, Sam Mewis talked about it on the Women’s Game, Megan Rapinoe delivered a severe blow to Albert on her instagram story. The general consenous is dissapoinment in Albert and most importantly in US Soccer.

Where are the repercussions? and WHY is this being treated as a Social Media usage issue instead of saying it ike it is. Homphobia and Transphobia. It doesn’t matter that she is 20, it doesn’t matter that it was just likes and a repost, it doesnt matter. It was harmful and it weaponized relgion in a way that goes against the values of the team. Queer Christians exist and were pissed. But yet there was nothing but a bunch of press releases saying things were being done internally and that she should be embraced by the public.

How so? Where has she shown growth?

Why is homophobia and transphobuia treated as though they are just differences in opinons, “ strong beliefs”, or because of someones faith. There is no excuse, just room to grow. Homophobia and transphobia kill, intolerance kills, and especially in this day and age here in the US it is dangerous.

Rapinoe signed off her Instagram message to her fans and to the public, condemning Alberts actions by saying “your #15”. Albert was wearing the famously attributed to Rapinoe ‘15’.

If you know anything about Rapinoe, you know how fervently she fought for LGBTQ+ rights and how outspoken she was. So to have a player like Albert wear her number was ironic to say the least. But doesn’t it give a very clear message. The new generation is here. However, what does that mean? Does that mean that they won’t fight for the same things their predecessors did? Will it just be a lot of sweeping under the rug and watering down issues just to stick to soccer? That’s not what the USWNT has ever stood for and it shouldn’t start now.

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USWNT Roster Reaction and Opinions!