U.S. Olympic soccer player Tierna Davidson has criticized teammate Korbin Albert for her past social media posts that were critical of the transgender movement, despite Albert having apologized for those statements months earlier.
Albert, a Christian, faced backlash from far-left LGBTQ activists after sharing content opposing transgenderism and liking a post that mocked the injury of fellow player Megan Rapinoe.
In a recent podcast appearance, Davidson expressed her discomfort with the situation and emphasized the importance of representing the queer community positively, suggesting that public expressions of personal beliefs can have harmful effects.
“It’s been difficult. It was difficult for me when it first happened,” Davidson said.
She added, “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, and so I want to have fans feel really welcome and feel like they can see themselves on this field in this team, so I don’t want there to be any sort of feeling that they are not welcome here.”
“I think it’s a difficult situation that has obviously affected me personally, given what she was speaking on,” Davidson added. “I think that it is something you have to learn as a young player, especially with the platform that you’re given.”
“Your beliefs, or how you choose to express certain things, is very public and people do look and listen. 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,” she said.
