USWNT's Lindsey Horan apologizes for 'poorly expressed' comments

US women's national team captain Lindsey Horan opened her time to reporters by addressing the backlash to her comments about US fans' knowledge of football, made in an interview with The Athletics published earlier this month.

“First and foremost, I would like to apologize to our fans,” Horan said during a virtual availability ahead of the CONCACAF W Gold Cup. “Some of my comments were poorly worded and a huge lesson was learned for me.”

In her interview with The Athletics, Horan shared his frustrations with the way match viewers took commentary at face value before joking that her mother did it while watching USWNT matches. On Thursday, she took the time to clarify and express her appreciation for the fans.

“When I think about our fans, I love them so much. The team loves them so much, and I can't explain how much they mean to us. Every time we go out and practice, every time we go out and play games, you know we're playing for you guys,” Horan said. “You are our inspiration, our motivation, and seeing you wear our jerseys and seeing you shout our names and sing USA, that's what we play for and I never wanted to take that away.

“If we continue to do that, the culture of football in America is changing and growing in such a positive way. For me to experience that firsthand, playing for this U.S. Women's National Team, but also in the NWSL and for the Portland Thorns, is something so amazing. It is my absolute honor, and I will always say so, to wear this emblem every day. To be in this environment, to play in front of our fans and represent this national team, that's something – again, it's my greatest honor. … The last thing I ever wanted to do was offend someone like that. So again, my sincerest apologies.”

When asked to elaborate on what she wanted to express with her original comments, Horan responded that she didn't think “what I meant really matters at this point.” She said she is just “a soccer brain” who likes to watch as much soccer as possible.

“I like talking about it and the way people talk about Man City, Arsenal and the old Barcelona,” she said. “That's what I want people to say about us. I want people to talk about how great we are on the ball, the possession, the style of play, the technical ability, the tactical changes mid-match, these kinds of things.

Horan said she apologized for how she felt and wanted to “express how much the fans mean to me personally.”

Speaking about the tournament ahead – the inaugural W Gold Cup – Horan joked that the goal is “the trophy.”

More seriously, she said the team's main goal is to win, but it is also perfect preparation for the Olympics because of the tournament format and timing. “What we do here can really train us and prepare us mentally for what we may face in France,” she said. “We're taking every game at a time and we're getting better and better as the tournament goes on. Now we're just continuing to do more and more of what we're trying to do and how we're trying to play.”

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Horan emphasized multiple times that she believes every player on the roster should be used during the Gold Cup to get some players tournament minutes and more time on the field – and that the USWNT should collectively take advantage of this time on the field ahead of the Olympics To play.

“It's not just the new youth, it's all of us,” she said. “We all move forward together and we remain a team. Everyone has to get on the same page as we go to the Olympics, but first the first match here at the Gold Cup.”

(Photo: Brennan Asplen, Getty Images)