Defender Tierna Davidson and midfielder Corbin Albert will play together as teammates for the U.S. at the Paris Olympics.
But as Davidson said on Good Game with Sarah Spain on Tuesday, that fact may be hard to swallow for many in the U.S. locker room after Albert reposted a sermon on social media in March about being gay and “feeling transgender” being wrong, then apologized.
Davidson is a lesbian, and the U.S. women’s soccer team has long prided itself on LGBTQ inclusion.
“I think it’s going to be difficult. As a team, we’ve always wanted to be welcoming to all of our fans, all of our players that come into the locker room, so it’s going to be very difficult to make that happen in our space,” Davidson said, via Steph Young of The Athletic.
USA national team coach Emma Hayes suggested she had been training with Albert in June.
“It was tough for me when it first happened and it was tough to hear how the fans were taking it because I really want to represent the queer community well on this team,” Davidson said. “I want them to feel really welcome and to be able to see themselves on this field with this team. I never want to leave them feeling like they’re not welcome here.”
The U.S. is scheduled to open its Olympic games on Thursday against Zambia.
