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 has obviously affected me personally given what she was speaking on.”

Davidson, who is openly queer, went on Sarah Spain’s podcast, “Good Game with Sarah Spain”, and talked about her feelings regarding Albert’s actions, which included a repost of a sermon given in a Christian worship space talking about how being gay and “feeling transgender” is wrong.

Albert apologized for the post on her Instagram, which recirculated in March 2024. Since then USWNT head coach Emma Hayes has publicly backed Albert, saying in a June press conference, “There’s no denying there’s been a lot of work that’s been going on in the background to work with Korbin.”

On Spain’s podcast, Davidson said, “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.”

The USWNT has previously used its platform to support trans rights, among other topics, both individually and collectively. In 2022 during the SheBelieves Cup, players wore wrist tape bearing the message “Protect Trans Kids.” The gesture came during a game in Texas, where, at the time, Texas governor Greg Abbott referred to children transitioning as “child abuse” and directed licensed professionals who work with children to report the parents of trans children to state authorities.

“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,” Davidson said.

“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.”

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Davidson also said she thought Albert had “gone through a lot of learning,” in accord with Hayes’ statements about any possible private conversations being held within the team.

“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,” said Davidson. “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, and I think this is that moment for her…. It’s up to her. But I think she’s continuing to do that education and it’s important she expresses that as she learns. So I think the ball’s kind of in her court for that.”

Davidson also spoke to Spain about Hayes’ work with the team in the short time they’ve had to prepare for the Olympics, including trying to instill more tactical flexibility into the team and being able to adjust to various opposition tactics on the field.

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

Davidson’s comment on Albert can be heard in full at the 26:44 mark in Spain’s podcast.

(Photo: Harry How, Getty Images)