USWNT Defender Tierna Davidson on ‘Difficult Situation’ Created by Korbin Albert’s Anti-LGBTQ Posts

U.S. women’s national team defender Tierna Davidson has described anti-LGBTQ social media posts previously shared by teammate Korbin Albert as creating “a difficult situation that obviously affected me personally, given what she was talking about.”

Davidson, who is openly queer, said on Sarah Spain’s podcast: “Good game with Sarah Spain”and spoke about her feelings regarding Albert’s actions, including a repost of a sermon delivered at a Christian worship service that talked about how wrong being gay and “feeling transgender” is.

Albert apologized for the post on her Instagram, which recirculated in March 2024. Since then, USWNT head coach Emma Hayes has publicly supported Albert, saying at a press conference in June: “There’s no denying that a lot of work has gone into the background working with Korbin.”

Speaking on the Spanish podcast, Davidson said: ‘I think it’s difficult because as a team we always want to be very welcoming to all our fans, to all the players who walk through the dressing room, so we want that in our space. is very difficult.”

The USWNT has previously used its platform to support trans rights, both individually and collectively, among other things. In 2022, players wore wristbands with the message “Protect Trans Kids” during the SheBelieves Cup. The gesture came during a competition in Texas, where Texas Governor Greg Abbott at the time called transitioning children “child abuse” and ordered licensed professionals who work with children to report the parents of trans children to state authorities.

“Whether it’s something you grew up with or not, whether it was taught to you from a young age and you may not know any better, it’s something that can hurt other people,” Davidson said.

“It was hard for me when it first happened, and it’s hard to hear how fans have taken it, because I feel like I really want to be able to represent the queer community well on this team. I want fans to feel really welcome and feel like they can see themselves in this team on this field. I don’t want the feeling to arise that they are not welcome here.”

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Davidson also said she thought Albert “learned a lot,” consistent with Hayes’ statements about possible private conversations happening within the team.

“We have to learn from what we do in our lives and how people react to it, and understand the pain we can cause,” Davidson said. “I have always believed in the ability of people to learn and of people to change and evolve and that sometimes requires a very difficult experience, and I think this is the moment for her…. It’s up to her. But I think she’s continuing to get that education and it’s important that she expresses that as she learns. So I think the ball is in her court in that regard.”

Davidson also spoke to Spain about Hayes’ work with the team in the short time they have had to prepare for the Olympics, including trying to bring more tactical flexibility into the team and adapting to different tactics from the opponent on the field.

Davidson said, “I really feel like we’re playing a chess match… You might notice some differences. You definitely see players in different positions, but also how we move the ball, what spaces we want to get into or how we get there.”

Davidson’s commentary on Albert can be heard in full on the 26:44 in the Spanish podcast.

(Photo: Harry Hoe, Getty Images)