USWNT defender Tierna Davidson on ‘difficult situation’ created by Korbin Albert previous posts
US women’s national team defender Tierna Davidson has described anti-LGBTQ social media posts previously shared by her teammate Korbin Albert as creating “a difficult situation that obviously affected me personally, given what she was talking about.”
Davidson, who is openly gay, went 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 given at a Christian prayer room, which talked about how wrong it is to be gay and “feel transgender.”
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Albert apologized for the post on her Instagram, which was re-circulated in March 2024. USWNT head coach Emma Hayes has since publicly supported Albert, saying at a June press conference, “There’s no denying that a lot of work has been done in the background to work with Korbin.”
Davidson said on the Spanish podcast: “I think it’s difficult because as a team we’ve always wanted to be welcoming to all our fans, to all the players that walk through the dressing room, and it’s very difficult to have that in our space.”
The USWNT has previously used its platform to support trans rights, both individually and collectively. In 2022, players wore wristbands at the SheBelieves Cup that read “Protect Trans Kids.” The gesture came during a game in Texas, where Texas Governor Greg Abbott at the time called transitioning children “child abuse” and directed licensed professionals who work with children to report parents of trans children to state authorities.
“Whether it’s something you grew up with, or it’s something you’ve been taught from a young age and maybe you don’t 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 are taking it, because I feel like I really want to represent the queer community well on this team. I want fans to feel really welcome and feel like they can see themselves on this field on this team. I don’t want there to be a feeling that they’re not welcome here.”
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Davidson also said she felt Albert had “learned a lot,” echoing Hayes’ statements about possible private conversations that took place within the team.
“We have to learn from what we do in our lives and how people respond to that, and understand the pain that we can cause,” Davidson said. “I’ve always believed in the ability of people to learn and to change and evolve and sometimes that requires a really difficult experience, and I think this is that moment for her… It’s up to her. But I think she’s going to continue to do that education and it’s important that she expresses that as she learns. So I think the ball is kind of in her court on that.”
Davidson also spoke to Spain about Hayes’ work with the team in the short time they had to prepare for the Olympics, including his efforts to make the team more tactically flexible and adapt to the opposition’s different tactics on the pitch.
Davidson said: “I really feel like we’re playing a game of chess… You might notice some differences. You’ll definitely notice players in different positions, but also how we move the ball, the 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 mark in the podcast of Spain.
(Photo: Harry How, Getty Images)
