At the Olympics in Paris, defender Tierna Davidson and midfielder Korbin Albert will play together for the United States as teammates.
However, as Davidson discussed Tuesday on Good Game with Sarah Spain, that fact may not come easy for many in the American locker room. That's because Albert re-posted to social media a sermon stating being gay and "feeling transgender" were wrong in March of this year, for which she later apologized.
Davidson is a lesbian, and the United States women's soccer team has long prided itself on its LGBTQ inclusion.
"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," Davidson said via Steph Yang of The Athletic.
The Americans' coach, Emma Hayes, indicated in June that she had been working with Albert.
“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," Davidson said. "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.”
The United States is scheduled to open Olympic play on Thursday against Zambia.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as USWNT's Tierna Davidson Discusses Teammate Korbin Albert's Past Anti-LGBTQ Posts.
