United States women's national team star Tierna Davidson has admitted that anti-LGBTQIA+ posts from team-mate Korbin Albert impacted her 'personally'.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Albert apologized for anti-LGBTQIA+ posts in MarchUSWNT star Davidson admits activity impacted herSpeaks at length about situation before OlympicsWHAT HAPPENED?
Albert apologized in March after sharing the content on social media, something which Megan Rapinoe took aim at her for in an Instagram story that was reposted by the likes of Becky Sauerbrunn, Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams.
“I’m really disappointed in myself and am deeply sorry for the hurt that I have caused to my team-mates, other players, fans, friends and anyone who was offended,” Albert said soon after. “I truly believe that everyone should feel safe and respected everywhere and on all playing fields. I know my actions have not lived up to that and for that I sincerely apologize. It’s an honor and a privilege to play this sport on the world stage and I promise to do better."
AdvertisementUSA Today ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Since then, Albert has continued to be called up for the USWNT, something that has not gone down well with fans. The midfielder has even been booed when playing for her country at times. Now, in an interview ahead of the Olympic Games, her U.S. team-mate Davidson has talked about how the situation has impacted her, as an openly gay person.
WHAT DAVIDSON SAID
“I think it's a difficult situation that has obviously affected me personally given what she was speaking on," Davidson said on . "I think that it is something that you have to learn as a young player, especially with the platform that you're given, your beliefs or how you choose to express certain things is very public and people do look and listen. And whether or not it's something that you grew up with, or it was instilled upon you from a young age and you might not know better, it is something that can hurt other people.
"I think that she has gone through a lot of learning since then, and she has to continue to do that, as we all do as humans. We have to learn from what we do in our lives and how people react to it, and understand the hurt that we can cause. I think that it's difficult because as a team we have always wanted to be very welcoming to all of our fans, to all players that walk through the locker room, and so to have that in our space is very difficult. But I have always believed in the ability for people to learn and for people to change and to evolve and that sometimes requires a very difficult experience, which I think this is that moment for her.
"It's something that happens a lot in people's lives, where you kind of come between a rock and a hard place and you're like, ‘Okay, what am I going to do? Am I going to pick the left path or the right path?’ And it's up to her. But I think that she's continuing to do that education and it's important that she expresses that as she learns. So I think the ball's kind of in her court for that. But it's been difficult. It was difficult for me when it first happened, and it's been hard to hear how fans have been taking it because I feel like I want to be able to represent the queer community really well on this team. I want to have fans feel really welcome and feel like they can see themselves on this field, in this team. I don't want there to be any sort of feeling that they're not welcome here.
"So, again, I believe in people being able to evolve and being able to learn and I'm not someone that's going to meet any sort of hate with hate. She's one of my team-mates and I respect that and I respect her as a player. But it is something that you have to go through with life, you encounter and work with people that you don't always agree with. That's something that you want to try and help people to change. You want to try and help them love and that's what we're trying to do.”
DID YOU KNOW?
Davidson is engaged to her girlfriend, Alison Jahansouz, after proposing in March 2023. Jahansouz, a goalkeeper, was previously on the Chicago Red Stars roster, the club which Davidson represented for five years after being drafted No.1 overall in 2019.