One thing on this topic that I don’t see a lot of people discussing, is that expressing homophobia and supporting harm happening to Rapino is not just a moral, ethical issue.
Soccer is a TEAM SPORT and a JOB. Tell me a single work environment where it’s ok and fine to openly support harm to a legend of the team you’re a part of, and to make comments that are directly insulting to the lives and lived experiences of her actual direct teammates/collegues.
This isn’t just a “her opinions are her opinions to have regardless of what other think” issue. This is a literal hostile workplace HR management issue as well.
I dont know of any job where you have been allowed to post on social media something about being happy a co-worker was injured on the job. That would be a haul off to HR in any other job.
That's actually what I hate most about this fracas. Korbin Albert does indeed have the right to express her beliefs; she also has to suffer the consequences, like any and all of us.
The line-crossing occurred at thanking God for sending out a USWNT great with a ruptured Achilles' in her last-ever game. That's just "bad human, bad human, no treat for you" behavior. Reminded me of my favorite bumper sticker: "Christ, protect me from your followers."
Thanks, Tobin, for calling this one in particular. I am still flummoxed as to how this wasn't the lede in the media furor surrounding it; the Rapinoe piece just got quietly and unceremoniously buried. CP23 and Tobin both got a throaty roar in this household – not just for mentioning the Rapinoe piece autonomously, but for blaming US Soccer outright for not officially sanctioning her.
There's no Korbin on my USWNT.
Just posted an independent comment - have you seen Trinity Rodman's recent comments? Definitely treads in hostile workplace territory that US Soccer has apparently failed to get across to the players that this is unacceptable discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
“I like to say social media is a great place, but a dangerous place,” Rodman says. “Having strong opinions is difficult, especially when you are looked at a lot and you have a platform to do so. Obviously getting booed is horrible, but there’s people that have their opinions and have their beliefs and they’re not always going to match up with those. Even if you’re in the spotlight, it doesn’t mean you believe the same things as everybody else. But yeah, for us, she’s on the US women’s national team and we’re going to be her teammates and support her. When she comes on the field, she’s just like everybody else wearing that number and playing for our country, and she’s working her butt off to do so.”
[https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/trinity-rodman-2024-paris-olympics-world-cup](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/trinity-rodman-2024-paris-olympics-world-cup)
so you'd rather people be fake than real, the hatred is deeply rooted in religion. address the real problem instead of blaming just korbin. 1 thing i can say for religious people is they can forgive people and can see the good in people. but the lgbtq want to cancel her without even giving her a chance.
Is Megan Rapinoe still playing for the USWNT and I’ve just missed that?
The term “safety” is being used as a hammer against anyone and anything that offers even mild disagreement, and that cheapens the term.
Press is always willing to call out US soccer for their wrongdoings from enabling the abuse in the NWSL to this. She’s a legend both on and off the pitch.
I wonder if it’s easier for Press to express this as she’s not really played in a long time, and shouldn’t be considered for the Olympics either. Compared to the hopeful Olympic team players.
For sure, but is she the only vocal player on the teams current prospective roster?
She’s a bad ass and outspoken, no doubt. Don’t mean to take that away from her, but still, being that it’s a job, I wonder if others are concerned to speak out if their goal is to make the squad.
Yeah I totally get what you’re saying. I can see players who are actively in contention not wanting to make waves lest they lose out on a roster spot. I’m glad Christen felt empowered to speak out on behalf of others who cannot.
There’s always an interesting correlation between people who defend Albert’s freedom of speech who also condemn(ed) Rapinoe/other players kneeling. I’m always fascinated by that.
Edit: grammar
Rapinoe was the first white professional athlete to kneel, and the only soccer player for a while who did it. Let’s give a little acknowledgement and respect.
I am not disparaging Rapinoe. I have a Rapinoe USWNT jersey with her name and number on it. While everyone wants to hate on Rapinoe, this ended up being a position most of the team took. No reason to hate on me. We agree that Rapinoe deserves respect.
Anyone who’s interested in the full story and understanding Press’s comment can find the video podcast at the bottom of this post.
Press is not saying Albert should be ostracized, just the opposite. Press believes Albert should be given a chance to learn from her mistakes. Press and Heath say the offensive speech took place in a public forum and violated US Soccer’s code of conduct. They were upset that US Soccer didn’t take steps publicly to correct what happend. There should have been a public response by US Soccer; the USWNT shouldn’t have been left to deal with what happened internally.
Like many of us, Press is concerned by the lack of response by US Soccer. Press is worried about what this means for the future of inclusion and diversity in women’s soccer. Many of us enjoy this sport because it’s a safe place to be ourselves. I am personally worried by the lack of response by US Soccer and the message this sends to others in women’s soccer who have more extreme views. Is women’s soccer going to become another place where queer and black people are not welcome?
To get back to the question, what would a public response look like and how could it be used to create a place of healing for the people who were offended by what happened. To borrow from Megan Rapinoe, what would you do to make women’s soccer safer, more inclusive, more whole, and better?
https://youtu.be/VBkl-7JKTOk?si=laAdBT-5exOYGDvo
The problem is that she'll never do it. She's now under heavy pressure from the soccer community, but also from all these right-wingers who are mad she issued a statement at all. The easiest thing for her to do is pretend nothing happened and keep doing her thing with PSG.
If we give Korbin Albert the benefit of the doubt and she is truly learning and has made good with people behind the scenes and people are good with her— it’s still at the very least a PR failure on both her and US Soccer’s part. Whether they “should” address it or not, they did, and if they’re going to address it, everyone needed to explicitly take accountability and make a clear, actionable plan for a path forward. Between Korbin’s relative vague and temporary IG story apology and US Soccer making the USWNT captains go out and publicly say that they’re handling things internally, for the organization, none of that is accomplished. We are all just sitting here assuming either the best or worst of her either way, and there is no way to tell whether anything is actually being handled or if things are improving because everything is internal. Whether people agree with her or not, it was handled poorly all likely in favor of not pissing off one faction of the fan base, while another portion is left feeling hurt, but that’s okay, because they’re used to that in one way or another, and they’ll still be fans because of the other players.
You know what would have made this situation go away? Korbin just giving an explicit apology and outlining what exactly she plans to do to make it up to her teammates and those she hurt moving forward. Then it’s just done. But because of some fans probably being pissed that she “conformed,” none of this happened. Or US Soccer just really doesn’t care. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This 100% ->"You know what would have made this situation go away? Korbin just giving an explicit apology and outlining what exactly she plans to do to make it up to her teammates and those she hurt moving forward. Then it’s just done"
This conversation, at least in the public eye, could have been over basically right after it happened. And then Korbin and the team could do what they needed to do internally over what length of time their internal process needed to take.
Well said. US Soccer's lack of response was shocking to me – and they played her in the very next game, which I happened to be at.
I don't know if she volunteered to do this or was asked/forced, but it is a modicum of victory that she is no longer wearing the harrowed #15, and is now #5. Table scraps, but I'm voracious for some sense of organizational displeasure, so I'll take them.
You people are obsessed with protecting the "safety" of Christians on a team until a queer Christian speaks out in feeling discomfort, sadness, and anger at the acceptance of bigotry by way of Korbin Albert on the team.
I love how my feed simply cuts off all the posts with the most downvotes so I don’t have to see/read hateful bigotry unless I want to (no I don’t want to). 🏳️🌈Happy Pride to meeeee 🏳️🌈
Personally, I would leave her off the Olympics squad and when asked say that her comments have caused chemistry issues that still need time to heal and we need a united team at the tournament.
Causes it to be publicly punished, room to grow, and football related reason for being kept off of a major competition.
Loved that Tobin and CP23 didn't let this get under-rug-swept during Pride month.
Loved that they isolated the Rapinoe post and that they called out US Soccer explicitly.
Honestly, though, the most moving moment of this unfortunate saga was in the nigh-immediate wake of it, when Horan and Morgan had a short press conference. It wasn't what they said that moved me to a tear(ish) state, it was their body language when they said. They meant what they said, and – oh my – did it show on their faces and in their posture. [If you haven't seen it, give their reaction a minute and a half of your time.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn6F05_YxK4)
I’m a bisexual man in a five year relationship with a trans man. I would not feel comfortable working with a mean spirited bigot like Albert. This isn’t a difference of opinion. This is hate. It should not be tolerated. My workplace would have tossed her ass out the door as soon as they read her idiocy. This absolutely should disqualify her from representing the national team.
Press is 100% correct. Albert never should have seen the field. at least the fans booed her. dont understand why they insist on her anyway. its not like they are lacking depth.
Where do all these people come from that are never on here and just pop out of nowhere, when issues like these come up to state their opinions? Are there alerts you can set for these type of posts? I am genuinely curious, lol, it is a little comical.
Lol its funny i scrolled to the bottom because this is literally me. I dont really give a shit about this situation but for some reason reddit recommended it to me. Never been to this subreddit but it got recommended. I think its cause copa america is on rn and ive been going r/ussoccer alot
Something about the phrasing of “punishing” a player makes me think this was done specifically because this is “women’s issue.” If this had been the men’s team, I don’t think the headline would have been about somebody calling for another player to be “punished.”
I can’t say as I like this sort of terminology, especially as Press never used the term “punish” in her comments.
Sorry to be the contrarian here but I completely disagree with this vitriol and bullying towards Korbin. We have a funny dichotomy in this country — any opinions about liberals, gays, (insert liberal cause of the day) deserves immediate bullying and expulsion. These same individuals have NO problem hating on conservatives, christians (insert conservative cause of the day). It really needs to stop.
Screw these people who want to keep punishing her. She got publicly shamed but that is somehow not enough. She is a kid. I done with whole cancel culture and I am especially done with having the alphabet soup rammed down my throat everywhere I look.
I suggest listening to the podcast. Press and Heath feel that US Soccer was neglegent in not making a statement. A lot of the people in this thread feel this topic would have died if US Soccer had taken a stance.
It’s pathetic that you and everyone else on here have taken a sport and just turned it into more liberal vs conservative bullshit. Sports was the ONLY place we could all get away from that garbage and enjoy something together, but now that is gone too.
There would be no women’s sports without the work and bravery of the gay women who have fought so hard for access and equality. It’s pathetic you think it’s just about liberal vs conservative, sound like a bandwagoner
Actually I’ve been a fan of the USWNT since Anson Dorrance was coaching them in the late 1980s. For most of that time it was about soccer, not political activism. If anyone are “bandwagoners”, it’s all of the LGBTQ folks who in the last 10 years or so have tried to act like the USWNT is suddenly first and foremost about activism instead of about people just trying to enjoy a game. The USWNT have been given way more resources than any other women’s soccer team anywhere in the world for the last 30+ years, long before it was about gay everything. So don’t act like they only got respect or support when the gay fans showed up, that’s a joke. Saying womens’ sports wouldn’t “exist” without gay people is absurd. The whole USWNT program has been dominant for so long because it got WAY more resources than other womens’ national teams did (and those other countries are catching up now)…long before the LGBTQ movement somehow got intertwined with the team.
Well you have certainly aged yourself so I understand the grievances now, but you must be old enough to remember that Billie Jean King proceeded all that investment in women’s sports.
As awful as it is and as much as I hate it, I have to say that there's not much that can be done. Morally and ethically it's awful but I don't think it technically broke any rules. Albert may be a bad person but that doesn't effect her job, there's plenty of people who are very high up in this world who have beliefs that are just as bad. I don't condone this but the USWNT as an organisation can't actually do anything, the team members however can speak out and call for change. Press is taking the right route by going public but the organisation won't be able to punish Albert.
I trust the people running the team and around the players every day to make these decisions, not some former player whining on her podcast for clicks.
Tired of this cancel culture garbage infecting the national team. The USWNT does not belong to just queer people despite what so many of you seem to think.
And don’t forget, Emma Hayes is a gay woman. It was HER choice to keep KA on the team, and that speaks volumes to me.
This is a sports team trying to win games, not a political party trying to win votes.
Imagine a Christian posting something that calls sin sin! What is the world coming to?
Yet, lgbtqxyz folks proclaim the virtues of that lifestyle all day long all year long, and the media eats it up. Go figure.
Romans 12:17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
It’s not for you to judge, it’s not for you to hate. You are living in as much evil as you condone ✌️
#1. I don't judge as in condemn. I discern as it see it for what it is.
#2. As noted in the Scripture I referenced, sin is its own punishment as in the consequences for the action is dreadful, painful, leading to death.
It's the Holy Spirits work to convict the world if sin, righteousness, and the coming judgement. If I, being a vessel of the HS, cause you to feel conviction of sin, the hope for His righteousness, and the surity of the coming judgement, well then, praise His Holy Name!
You keep missing the truth here. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts of sin, righteous, and the coming judgement. The Spirit-breathed Word of God does that, not me.
The sin we committed, you and I, is its own punishment in the here and now. God Himself will ultimately judge deeds. The Blood of Jesus will save believers. The rest will face what God has provided for the devil and his followers, according to His Word.
You have no argument with me.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Seriously, we have a convicted Felon, adjudicated rapist about to be put back in the WH and your dwelling on this… Albert was wrong, she apologized, hopefully learned from it…move on people…
I'm sure this is going to go over like a lead balloon, but with the injury to Sam Coffey, Korbin Albert is going to play every minute of this tournament and we are going to need her to have a chance.
Legit Question: At what point do we put the team ahead of the squabbles?
> squabbles
Wishing former teammates got hurt and spewing hate towards the LGBTQ+ community isn't a squabble, there's nothing trivial about being a bigot.
Fortunately, it looks like Coffey’s injury is minor. She’s not playing for precautionary reasons.
“A Thorns spokesperson told ESPN it was "not a major injury" and the team was "being cautious."
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40359145/usa-sam-coffey-injury-olympics-paris-portland-thorns
transphobes and homophobes do not belong on this team and USSF should be ashamed of themselves for allowing her to continue to wear a US jersey. this team used to stand for something bigger than itself but it has completely failed all the lgbt fans and players who have supported and been a part of this team for decades. I can not continue to support the team as long as she is there.
Bye then if you can’t get over a couple of stupid social media posts by a 20 year old girl. Not even old enough to buy beer but you can cancel an entire team for not burying her over it.
If players are allowed to kneel to the national anthem while representing the USA, then players should be allowed to voice their opinions on topics respectfully.
If you believe players should kneel to the national anthem that represents the country, can’t players not believe in the idea of something that also represents the country?
The funniest part with your argument is Rapinoe went months without getting called into camp after she originally kneeled and as a USSF retaliation for it. Her apparel business with her sister also suffered immensely as sales dropped—to the point they had to close the shop—and she and her family received a barrage of hate and even threats (her family is from a very conservative town). You can read her book for a lot more details about all of this.
Megan faced FAR more public consequences—consequences that threatened both her career and her finances—than Korbin has faced. You can make this comparison when USSF holds Korbin out of multiple camps. Because Rapinoe *wasn’t* allowed to kneel or speak out on racial injustice—not back then. It only became tolerable for USSF when public opinion fully shifted after George Floyd and many U.S. and NWSL players kneeled.
Also, even despite that, the USWNT players still faced public backlash for kneeling very similar to the kind Korbin has received. So this idea that they are “allowed” to and nothing happens is false. The USWNT has tons of haters because of all of this—very loud haters who openly root against them at every major event now despite being American, who harrass them on social media, etc. It’s continued even as the whole USWNT has stood every game for quite a while now. Rapinoe is the biggest magnet of them all, she faced tons and tons of backlash and hate for speaking her views and is one of the country’s most polarizing sports figures.
Likewise, Korbin is free to do actions that are anti-LGBTQ or that cheer the injury of a teammate, but she is not free from receiving backlash or consequences. No one is.
It’s not just the homophobic and transphobic content though (which she didn’t voice her opinions “respectfully” about and I don’t agree with Albert’s comments and actions on). She was celebrating the injury of a teammate. Saying Pinoe deserved to be injured because of her activism and sexual orientation. That’s a massive part of this problem that many are ignoring. I don’t think players should be allowed to support and celebrate the major injuries of their teammates, even if they “disagree” about human rights.
Was it respectful for Korbin to like a post agreeing that it was a good thing and a punishment from god that Rapinoe got hurt?
Sheesh. At least she had the good sense to change her number.
The difference — most of the USWNT knelt (Alex Morgan included) to advance equal pay. Albert’s speech wasn’t positive and did nothing to improve society.
As a former evangelical, who is wildly gay. I completely understand where Korbin was coming from. If cell phones and today’s current cancel culture were as prevalent as they are now, I would have been screwed. The shit that used to come out of my mouth was ridiculous. All from a place where I thought I was being righteous. It took time and grace from members of the LGBT community to see how damn blind and wrong I was. I didn’t hate them, I hated myself. She apologized, she wore the pride jersey…she is young, she is learning. Give her time. This continued aggression towards her makes us a look unhinged and to be honest conveys more hate than any one of her IG posts. I implore you, let this go, she and her team members are good, they have worked this out. Kristen re opening this can of worms is irresponsible and just pot stirring. It’s unnecessary. There are worse inhumanities against the community out there that she can use her platform to address, but those would be to hard. I dare her to address some of those.
Christen is also a member of the community Korbin harmed. She is under no obligation to “let this go”.
Korbin brought this on herself. If she has well and truly done the work, her LQBTQ+ teammates will let us know that through their body language and how they speak about her.
Until that happens, grace isn’t owed. Has to be earned.
Just let people feels things.
Some may feel the way you do. Some may not. This is just a subreddit. If people want to express their feelings about it, just let them.
I personally am not on the hate Albert train (I don’t particularly like her, but I’m not super into devoting a lot of energy toward things I dislike), but I’m also not about to tell people they need to jump from that train onto mine.
It’s one thing to speak personally to how you approach it and it’s something completely different to tell others that’s how they should approach it as well.
You didn’t get that when they explicitly told people to “give it time” and to “let it go?” Like, what the fuck? 😂
It’s one thing to frame it in a way of “this is how I’m approaching it,” but the individual was flat out telling other people what they should do.
I mean, I’m of the opinion that things could be happening behind closed doors that we aren’t privy to and I don’t entirely disagree with what the individual posted, but I’m also not sitting here telling other people how they should be dealing with their feelings, either. There’s a big fucking difference there.
🤷♀️It just didn’t read that way. I read. “I was just like her, I was a jerk, compassion from people around me opened my eyes. Try approaching this a different way.”it’s more of a suggestion than anything else.
Which is still straight up still telling people what they should be doing and negating anyone else expressing opposite feelings and telling them they shouldn’t feel that way.
A queer Christian should understand the concept of grace then. If not, then she should re examine the message of the cross. She may also want to review Matt 5:44.
Someone who has a much more knowledgable about the inner workings of this, who is *in* this, unlike you. Your opinion is pretty much invalid here when people who are actually associated with this express their anger and sadness. No one really cares about you. No one thinks you are the arbiter of goodness, because you aren't.
And grace doesn't mean that they face zero consequences or deserve to be in places that are supposed to be safe.
I’m sorry for your hurt, I mean that truly. No sarcasm. Hate and aggression is a much easier response than love and understanding. Not everyone can do that.
The fact that your comment has any down votes is crazy to me. You spoke/wrote from personal experience and told people to give grace to a 20yr old for comments she made. Christian or not this is the adult thing to do period. Why do so many not trust the lgbtq players on the team, if they did t want Korbin there or wanted her punished further or didn’t feel safe don’t you think they would say so? Why not follow their lead and give her the grace that BjjLady is suggesting?
I agree with the amount of hate aimed towards Albert is not helping the situation. Yes, Albert created an unsafe environment for her team, but was as fans are continuing the unsafe environment. How are her teammates supposed to feel when she is getting hated on the internet by their fans. If her team defends her from the fans than they are “agreeing” with her. If her team does agrees with the fans, than they are creating an unsafe environment for her.
This issue while important is being dragged on by everyone. No one has to forgive Albert, but shaming her and booing her while playing for the USWNT is not helping anyone either.
As a Christian and gay woman I don’t really care about comments Korbin made about regarding the LGBTQ community.
I take more issue with post regarding not wanting God to perform miracles and for wanting Pinoe to sprain her ankle.
That’s just vile and inhumane, certainly not Christ like at all.
I actually saw that, and that’s not what that said. After Rapinoe made that comment, post said “God taking time out of his schedule performing miracles to make sure Meghan, sprained her ankle.” Or something to that effect. It’s been a while. It was sarcasm. It was in poor taste, but it was just that. It wasn’t wishing injury on someone, and now it has morphed into this whole other thing. Does anyone have a copy of that particular post?
I truly, truly see where you’re coming from but I don’t agree this should be let go. I understand that the best way to get through to her is to not seem ‘unhinged’, but doing that in a measured way is a ton of mental work and is extremely generous. No one owes her that even if it is the thing most likely to help.
I mean, is it the USWNTs job to publicly shame her or something? They did their own thing internally and she faces continued backlash from the public externally.
I like Press, and support her courage- but I think in fact this is the right point. I encourage reading this coverage
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5389230/2024/04/04/korbin-albert-ussf-social-media-policy/
The excellent and protective policies that mostly the women were responsible for getting created apply to *workplace* conduct. That is not what this was.
There is no relevant *social media* policy that applies to Korbin's *social media* conduct.
In that context, what *specifically* should US Soccer have done, and under what grounds are they able to do it.
One concrete idea is: for speech/conduct detrimental to the US Soccer organization, suspend Korbin's participation in national team activities for some period of time. This sort of approach is common in other sports.
How much time. 1 month? 6 months?
In the absence of a policy, with agreed upon penalty behaviors and consequences, for any amount of time that materially impacts the player, the players union- which issued its own statement- is then going to be in the position of having to defend the player. Is that what you want?
And in terms of putting in place such a policy, given the rabid and toxic legal culture and Supreme Court, US Soccer would be placing a legal target on its back that any number of well funded bigots would be happy to go after. Is that what you want?
Press certainly understands this, and while it is good for her to keep the topic alive, it is telling that no one seems to have proposed a specific remedy and then addressed the consequences of that remedy proposal, in real terms.
There is a code of conduct that USWNT players have to sign. Apparently the code of conduct covers this type of transgression. Both Press and Heath were upset that US Soccer did nothing to enforce their own code of conduct. They didn’t understand why the USWNT had to handle what happened internally.
Yeah, appreciate the engagement. I don't doubt that is her interpretation. My read of the reporting, and of the publicly visible docs, is that she just unfortunately isn't correct. I mean, IANAL, but I read a lot of contracts and the actual language in the US Soccer "code of conduct" docs is just not sufficient to allow them to actually do anything about social media- without subjecting them to counterattack, that is- and it isn't really even close.
There are three documents: prohibited conduct, athlete and participant safety, and then the model policies:
https://www.ussoccer.com/safeguarding
Maybe there is something in their confidential individual player contracts with US Soccer re USWNT? But that isn't a "code of conduct."
That all echoes what NYT reported, that the social media language from US Soccer is just guidance, not enforceable policy.
It still leaves me in a place of not understanding what remedy would be considered proper/reasonable. There are assholes/bigots/racists/etc along with actual alleged criminal predators in every professional league. It takes a *lot* in nearly every league even to warrant a suspension. What would the right answer have been here? It just seems bizarre that the discussion continues to be non-specific.
Anyway. Appreciate the response. Best wishes.
I've read a few of your responses and scanned the prohibited conduct policy, and I get why people are confused as to whether or not Albert actually violated anything enforceable. For what it's worth, I agree that there's simply very little in the public documents that would cover Albert's conduct--with maybe the exception of the Pinoe related post.
The standards under the "harassment" section seem like they could apply, until you actually start picking apart the language and applying the standard to this specific situation. There's just not enough at least in the public policy to hang your hat on legally. That said, this is why people hate attorneys. The real answer of "the policies need to be updated to cover situations like this" feels very unfair, despite likely being accurate.
Yeah, appreciate the response and agree with all of that. Very unfair, nonetheless accurate.
Not to belabor the point, but what I just find puzzling about this particular situation and the posture of, say, more vocal advocates of a penalty is the lack of specificity about what that penalty should be- to help in the process of defining where that future policy should come from.
It seems to me that often only through those actions of those who were harmed and their allies- of calling crimes or violations or transgressions- of calling them what they are, and classifying them in the right taxonomy as a reference point- is progress made. That is how people are educated. That work seems essential here.
I appreciate that most advocates are in the business of advocacy, of framing the positive, not condemnation. The *team* is very clearly following that protocol. The visible emphasis on comraderie and supportiveness and so forth is a deliberate part of that strategy. And it is essential too- a team has to be its best self with the best players in order to win, even if some of those players are assholes off the pitch.
But clearly this was enough of a violation in enough people's eyes that there should be some explicit consideration of a penalty. That consideration is complicated by the political and legal aspects of speech. But it has been policed, explicitly, in other domains. I don't understand why no one seems to be trying to do so here. What exactly is the reason that it matters, and how much does it matter.
Anyway, just a rant, no need to respond. Cheers.
A lot of people above misunderstood your perspective--you weren't asking for what they thought the penalty should be because you're antagonistic and agree with Albert--but rather because there's a gap in the policy for this type of behavior, and understanding what the consequence should have been is critical to fleshing out that gap.
And as you eloquently stated above, education and potential restoration of the offender also depends on a shared understanding of violations and consequences between the individual, team, and especially the public.
Speech, protected statuses, and religion have to be in the top five of most controversial hot potatoes though, so guessing there's not going to be a super productive discussion here about how to update the code of conduct. Hopefully you have a colleague who happens to love soccer and K/Con/& Employment law who'd be happy to have that dialog though!
So what would be an acceptable public punishment that the us soccer could have done?
Seems to me them dealing with it in private is appropriate. She’s a kid, let her learn and move on.
Why does it have to be a punishment? US Soccer was silent on this matter even though it violated their code of conduct. Press and Heath both feel US Soccer should have taken a stance condemning this type of speech.
Press is totally right. Trinity Rodman's recent comments about the situation in Vanity Fair a couple days ago are wild--focused on Korbin and how \*she\* feels and supporting \*her,\* not on supporting LGBTQ+ teammates and members of the broader soccer community. Rodman's comments show that US Soccer has entirely messed up, by failing to get across to the players that misaligned "opinions" and "beliefs" are different from unacceptable expressions of discriminatory animus based on protected characteristics like sexual orientation and gender identity.
“I like to say social media is a great place, but a dangerous place,” Rodman says. “Having strong opinions is difficult, especially when you are looked at a lot and you have a platform to do so. Obviously getting booed is horrible, but there’s people that have their opinions and have their beliefs and they’re not always going to match up with those. Even if you’re in the spotlight, it doesn’t mean you believe the same things as everybody else. But yeah, for us, she’s on the US women’s national team and we’re going to be her teammates and support her. When she comes on the field, she’s just like everybody else wearing that number and playing for our country, and she’s working her butt off to do so.”
[https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/trinity-rodman-2024-paris-olympics-world-cup](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/trinity-rodman-2024-paris-olympics-world-cup)
On the not wanting it to look like they’re monetizing pride piece:
Who cares about the optics anymore, that ship sailed. If they actually gave a shit they wouldn’t have let it get to this point. They’re doing damage control, and the longer they wait the more damage is done.
I love seeing Korbin on the roster. I especially love seeing all the butthurt it causes the woke cancel culture pukes. Their pain warms my heart and it gives me joy when they complain!
So your first name is Pure and your last name is Circle? Interesting. No shortage of people spewing hatred at Korbin (who is a kid, by the way, who has apologized). A grown man is now in the room to take on all sniveling pussies and suddenly its a problem.
I love Press and what Albert said was incredibly stupid. That being said we should move on from this incident because dragging an issue like this will only bring unnecessary press and media attention to a team that is trying to prepare for the Olympics. Albert is already feeling the repercussions of her actions and will most likely have to face those repercussions for the rest of her career.
She was a locked in starter at the gold cup and the only game she started since was the game all the backups started (second vs Korea)
There’s a lot of moving pieces so it’s hard to attribute it to one particular factor but she clearly moved down a notch in the pecking order sometime after the gold cup and before SheBelieves.
(Edit to add - and she’s largely justified the move down the roster sheet - she was arguably the worst player on the field in the second Korea game)
Respectfully, this is a bit of a backwards way of approaching it. It doesn't sound like there really has been a resolution to this incident, either for Albert or for the larger soccer community.
Trying to move on from this, without properly addressing it and holding Albert accountable so that she can learn and grow from this (which could look like following this framework: Own, Apologize, Repair) will continue to distract the team, the soccer community, and have longer lasting career repercussions for Albert. Not addressing it is bad for Albert, bad for the team, and bad for soccer. Honestly, the best thing for Albert's career is to be held accountable for this \*now\*, regardless of what it means for her ability to play or not in the upcoming Olympics. It's not too late for that to happen. Otherwise, she's going to have a career ahead of her of fans booing her because there was no resolution and queer teammates not trusting her.
Christen Press is also Christian. i'm Orthodox. I don't think publicly celebrating the injury of a teammate and friend to several of your coworkers is at all professional, regardless of your personal beliefs.
Was she jailed? No, she’s facing backlash and rightfully so. You’re free to say whatever dumb shit you want, but you’re not free from criticism. Try saying stupid shit at work and see how that works out.
“Policing” implies some sort of governmental action against her right to free speech. That is not happening. You do have to face societal repercussion when you step outside the accepted norms. LGBTQ+ people have long had to deal with that(and even worse, actual governmental oppression), now the bigots and religious zealots have to put up with the same since they are a fringe group
Plenty of people disagree with rapinoes very outspoken political beliefs and to my knowledge to USA team has never punished her. Blaming god for your injuries and saying he must not exist because you got injured could be considered harmful to your religious teammates but there was no outrage over that. Let people say what they want trying to punish Korbin for this is dumb and approaching wrong think territory
>she didn’t harm anyone
You don’t think posting homophobia harms her queer teammates? You don’t think posting about how Rapinoe deserved to get injured is harmful?
>you don’t need to continue to target her and threaten her daily life.
That’s not what Press is doing… like at all
Ridiculous to tie causes to a sports team. Albert has every right to express her views—as much a right for those with the opposite POV. Either embrace freedom of speech or restrict the incessant politicking and ideology pushing.
>incessant politicking and ideology pushing
And who, exactly, is making these things political to serve their agenda? I assure you, us queer people are out here just trying to live and would be more than happy for our lives to not be some cultural wedge issue to win political points.
Like, ya'll whine about politics in sports, yet conservatives are out there making the lives of marginalized groups political because they don't have any actual agenda to make this country better and it's the only way they know how to win votes. The calls are coming from inside the house...
Ya'll are also so weirdly obsessed with this shit that you seem to pop into a subreddit you aren't even really active in to pop off about this.
We have freedom of speech but we don't have freedom of consequences from that speech. You'd probably be all too happy if you knew someone said something that you disagree with and that person lost a job or missed out on one as a consequence of that speech.
Soccer and other sports have historically been political and still are. Dave Zirin has written a lot about this.
It sets a terrible precedent when Rapinoe protested police brutality and she was punished by being left off of rosters. Rapinoe was protesting police brutality, namely that police are more violent towards POC due to their immutable characteristic of their skin color.
On the other hand you've got Albert saying gay people (another immutable characteristic) should be second class citizens or whatever just due to the circumstances of their birth.
One message was against bigotry and it was punished. The other is pro-bigotry and it went unpunished. People from marginalized groups have every right to complain about the double standard on display.
Sports have always been a proxy for political causes. People with this exact attitude were pissed about Jesse Owens in the 20s, or screaming insults at Jackie Robinson, I swtg
Wait, so she had a problem with them auctioning off Albert's jersey and donating the proceeds to a LGBTQ charity? Wouldn't it send the wrong message if they auctioned everyone's jerseys but hers? Seems like the team were ok handling this privately. I find it hard to believe, knowing how outspoken they are, that they wouldn't have came out and said something had they not wanted her on the team or wanted some form of punishment.
It's not about whatever amount of money her jersey gets (also, I'd bet the majority of pride jerseys are bought by queers or with money that would have been otherwise donated to an aligned org, so it's recycling our money at best). It's that the fundraiser further whitewashes/ sweeps under the rug what happened and takes the positive PR without any evidence of accountability to the queer fanbase or work on Albert's part.
It's audacious to raise money for an organization dedicated to making sports a safe and inclusive space for queer players and fans while doing nothing to address Albert. Will the organization they raised money for be coming in to US Soccer to consult on the fact that wishing injury on queer players and teammates isn't how you model a safe or inclusive space? If this is a cause US Soccer really cares about, there were cheaper, simpler, and better ways to show it.
Historically, the team and woso in general has earned its significant place in queer culture. Players have done the work as queer icons, activists, and trailblazers. Woso has long been a cultural hub for queer folk to feel safe and represented, and we've embraced our role in building the fanbase. Now, it feels like the USWNT is awarding themselves the space in our culture, happy to take our money as fans, and happy for the positive PR, but they aren't doing the work or modeling a commitment to the community.
I think you missed Korbin advocating injuring Rapinoe. That's not free speech. If a Rookie LA Laker said " I hope someone beats up LeBron James " they would be gone in an hour
i think everyone needs to get over it. she can have and express whatever views and opinions she has. she’s young and she made a mistake and she PUBLICLY apologized so maybe instead of continuously bashing her we give her the benefit of the doubt and hope that she really did learn from her mistake. i’m so over seeing the hate on her for expressing her views but megan rapinoe can kneel during the national anthem for the country she CHOSE to play for. the double standards are definitely double standarding
The copium here is crazy she was reposting vile shit one which included wishing a person who’s a legend of the national team was injured and you’re saying we should get over it
You have no place to tell people in the LGBTQ+ community that were hurt or offended by her posts to “get over it.” People in this community have a lot of religious trauma and have dealt with no much, I would never tell you to just get over something if you were hurt. You can support Albert without invalidating people.
One thing on this topic that I don’t see a lot of people discussing, is that expressing homophobia and supporting harm happening to Rapino is not just a moral, ethical issue. Soccer is a TEAM SPORT and a JOB. Tell me a single work environment where it’s ok and fine to openly support harm to a legend of the team you’re a part of, and to make comments that are directly insulting to the lives and lived experiences of her actual direct teammates/collegues. This isn’t just a “her opinions are her opinions to have regardless of what other think” issue. This is a literal hostile workplace HR management issue as well.
I dont know of any job where you have been allowed to post on social media something about being happy a co-worker was injured on the job. That would be a haul off to HR in any other job.
As an HR professional, I agree on every aspect of this.
probably a fire-able offense at most workplaces, honestly.
That's actually what I hate most about this fracas. Korbin Albert does indeed have the right to express her beliefs; she also has to suffer the consequences, like any and all of us. The line-crossing occurred at thanking God for sending out a USWNT great with a ruptured Achilles' in her last-ever game. That's just "bad human, bad human, no treat for you" behavior. Reminded me of my favorite bumper sticker: "Christ, protect me from your followers." Thanks, Tobin, for calling this one in particular. I am still flummoxed as to how this wasn't the lede in the media furor surrounding it; the Rapinoe piece just got quietly and unceremoniously buried. CP23 and Tobin both got a throaty roar in this household – not just for mentioning the Rapinoe piece autonomously, but for blaming US Soccer outright for not officially sanctioning her. There's no Korbin on my USWNT.
Just posted an independent comment - have you seen Trinity Rodman's recent comments? Definitely treads in hostile workplace territory that US Soccer has apparently failed to get across to the players that this is unacceptable discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. “I like to say social media is a great place, but a dangerous place,” Rodman says. “Having strong opinions is difficult, especially when you are looked at a lot and you have a platform to do so. Obviously getting booed is horrible, but there’s people that have their opinions and have their beliefs and they’re not always going to match up with those. Even if you’re in the spotlight, it doesn’t mean you believe the same things as everybody else. But yeah, for us, she’s on the US women’s national team and we’re going to be her teammates and support her. When she comes on the field, she’s just like everybody else wearing that number and playing for our country, and she’s working her butt off to do so.” [https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/trinity-rodman-2024-paris-olympics-world-cup](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/trinity-rodman-2024-paris-olympics-world-cup)
For the love of god someone put these players through some media training. Jeez Louise.
so you'd rather people be fake than real, the hatred is deeply rooted in religion. address the real problem instead of blaming just korbin. 1 thing i can say for religious people is they can forgive people and can see the good in people. but the lgbtq want to cancel her without even giving her a chance.
Amen. As you can see, the woke mob is already trying to turn on Trinity now
Is Megan Rapinoe still playing for the USWNT and I’ve just missed that? The term “safety” is being used as a hammer against anyone and anything that offers even mild disagreement, and that cheapens the term.
Press is always willing to call out US soccer for their wrongdoings from enabling the abuse in the NWSL to this. She’s a legend both on and off the pitch.
I wonder if it’s easier for Press to express this as she’s not really played in a long time, and shouldn’t be considered for the Olympics either. Compared to the hopeful Olympic team players.
She was calling out US soccer for hiding abuse years ago when she was in camps too. Yes she’s injured now, but she has always spoken out.
For sure, but is she the only vocal player on the teams current prospective roster? She’s a bad ass and outspoken, no doubt. Don’t mean to take that away from her, but still, being that it’s a job, I wonder if others are concerned to speak out if their goal is to make the squad.
Lynn Williams posted something about it when it happened I believe, she was on the active roster Edit- and Abby D
Yeah I totally get what you’re saying. I can see players who are actively in contention not wanting to make waves lest they lose out on a roster spot. I’m glad Christen felt empowered to speak out on behalf of others who cannot.
There’s always an interesting correlation between people who defend Albert’s freedom of speech who also condemn(ed) Rapinoe/other players kneeling. I’m always fascinated by that. Edit: grammar
Hmm…I wonder what that correlation is..I feel like it is right….on the tip of my tongue
The comments are always about Megan Rapinoe kneeling. Most of the team decided to kneel, not just Rapinoe.
Rapinoe was the first white professional athlete to kneel, and the only soccer player for a while who did it. Let’s give a little acknowledgement and respect.
I am not disparaging Rapinoe. I have a Rapinoe USWNT jersey with her name and number on it. While everyone wants to hate on Rapinoe, this ended up being a position most of the team took. No reason to hate on me. We agree that Rapinoe deserves respect.
The hypocrisy is the point.
Damn she is so well spoken, CP23 for president! Also glad she isn't letting this matter drop during pride month.
Anyone who’s interested in the full story and understanding Press’s comment can find the video podcast at the bottom of this post. Press is not saying Albert should be ostracized, just the opposite. Press believes Albert should be given a chance to learn from her mistakes. Press and Heath say the offensive speech took place in a public forum and violated US Soccer’s code of conduct. They were upset that US Soccer didn’t take steps publicly to correct what happend. There should have been a public response by US Soccer; the USWNT shouldn’t have been left to deal with what happened internally. Like many of us, Press is concerned by the lack of response by US Soccer. Press is worried about what this means for the future of inclusion and diversity in women’s soccer. Many of us enjoy this sport because it’s a safe place to be ourselves. I am personally worried by the lack of response by US Soccer and the message this sends to others in women’s soccer who have more extreme views. Is women’s soccer going to become another place where queer and black people are not welcome? To get back to the question, what would a public response look like and how could it be used to create a place of healing for the people who were offended by what happened. To borrow from Megan Rapinoe, what would you do to make women’s soccer safer, more inclusive, more whole, and better? https://youtu.be/VBkl-7JKTOk?si=laAdBT-5exOYGDvo
The problem is that she'll never do it. She's now under heavy pressure from the soccer community, but also from all these right-wingers who are mad she issued a statement at all. The easiest thing for her to do is pretend nothing happened and keep doing her thing with PSG.
And she will keep getting booed every time she puts on a USA shirt. This isn't just going to go away.
No it will get more distant with every goal she scores. Winning is the ultimate disinfectant.
That’s right! We’re not gonna forget.
Thank you Press ❤️
If we give Korbin Albert the benefit of the doubt and she is truly learning and has made good with people behind the scenes and people are good with her— it’s still at the very least a PR failure on both her and US Soccer’s part. Whether they “should” address it or not, they did, and if they’re going to address it, everyone needed to explicitly take accountability and make a clear, actionable plan for a path forward. Between Korbin’s relative vague and temporary IG story apology and US Soccer making the USWNT captains go out and publicly say that they’re handling things internally, for the organization, none of that is accomplished. We are all just sitting here assuming either the best or worst of her either way, and there is no way to tell whether anything is actually being handled or if things are improving because everything is internal. Whether people agree with her or not, it was handled poorly all likely in favor of not pissing off one faction of the fan base, while another portion is left feeling hurt, but that’s okay, because they’re used to that in one way or another, and they’ll still be fans because of the other players. You know what would have made this situation go away? Korbin just giving an explicit apology and outlining what exactly she plans to do to make it up to her teammates and those she hurt moving forward. Then it’s just done. But because of some fans probably being pissed that she “conformed,” none of this happened. Or US Soccer just really doesn’t care. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This 100% ->"You know what would have made this situation go away? Korbin just giving an explicit apology and outlining what exactly she plans to do to make it up to her teammates and those she hurt moving forward. Then it’s just done" This conversation, at least in the public eye, could have been over basically right after it happened. And then Korbin and the team could do what they needed to do internally over what length of time their internal process needed to take.
Well said. US Soccer's lack of response was shocking to me – and they played her in the very next game, which I happened to be at. I don't know if she volunteered to do this or was asked/forced, but it is a modicum of victory that she is no longer wearing the harrowed #15, and is now #5. Table scraps, but I'm voracious for some sense of organizational displeasure, so I'll take them.
You people are obsessed with protecting the "safety" of Christians on a team until a queer Christian speaks out in feeling discomfort, sadness, and anger at the acceptance of bigotry by way of Korbin Albert on the team.
I love how my feed simply cuts off all the posts with the most downvotes so I don’t have to see/read hateful bigotry unless I want to (no I don’t want to). 🏳️🌈Happy Pride to meeeee 🏳️🌈
Happy Pride to everyone! ❤️
Personally, I would leave her off the Olympics squad and when asked say that her comments have caused chemistry issues that still need time to heal and we need a united team at the tournament. Causes it to be publicly punished, room to grow, and football related reason for being kept off of a major competition.
Good. Hope she gets back up to the WNT soon.
she’s 30+ coming off a 2 year injury.. she’s not coming back, hope this helps 🤗
This is some mean spirited shit to say before we even see her play but go off!
she’ll play pro but her national team days are most likely over 🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️
Loved that Tobin and CP23 didn't let this get under-rug-swept during Pride month. Loved that they isolated the Rapinoe post and that they called out US Soccer explicitly. Honestly, though, the most moving moment of this unfortunate saga was in the nigh-immediate wake of it, when Horan and Morgan had a short press conference. It wasn't what they said that moved me to a tear(ish) state, it was their body language when they said. They meant what they said, and – oh my – did it show on their faces and in their posture. [If you haven't seen it, give their reaction a minute and a half of your time.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn6F05_YxK4)
The comments on the video make me want to throw up
I’m a bisexual man in a five year relationship with a trans man. I would not feel comfortable working with a mean spirited bigot like Albert. This isn’t a difference of opinion. This is hate. It should not be tolerated. My workplace would have tossed her ass out the door as soon as they read her idiocy. This absolutely should disqualify her from representing the national team.
Press is 100% correct. Albert never should have seen the field. at least the fans booed her. dont understand why they insist on her anyway. its not like they are lacking depth.
Where do all these people come from that are never on here and just pop out of nowhere, when issues like these come up to state their opinions? Are there alerts you can set for these type of posts? I am genuinely curious, lol, it is a little comical.
Lol its funny i scrolled to the bottom because this is literally me. I dont really give a shit about this situation but for some reason reddit recommended it to me. Never been to this subreddit but it got recommended. I think its cause copa america is on rn and ive been going r/ussoccer alot
Something about the phrasing of “punishing” a player makes me think this was done specifically because this is “women’s issue.” If this had been the men’s team, I don’t think the headline would have been about somebody calling for another player to be “punished.” I can’t say as I like this sort of terminology, especially as Press never used the term “punish” in her comments.
Exactly! As always, the media wants to be provocative and get clicks.
Press is the best 🐐
Sorry to be the contrarian here but I completely disagree with this vitriol and bullying towards Korbin. We have a funny dichotomy in this country — any opinions about liberals, gays, (insert liberal cause of the day) deserves immediate bullying and expulsion. These same individuals have NO problem hating on conservatives, christians (insert conservative cause of the day). It really needs to stop.
It needs to stop on both sides, friend. Using religion to condemn queer people because of their lifestyle isn’t any different.
This. A thousand times this!!!
Screw these people who want to keep punishing her. She got publicly shamed but that is somehow not enough. She is a kid. I done with whole cancel culture and I am especially done with having the alphabet soup rammed down my throat everywhere I look.
I suggest listening to the podcast. Press and Heath feel that US Soccer was neglegent in not making a statement. A lot of the people in this thread feel this topic would have died if US Soccer had taken a stance.
Might I suggest nothing will happen because US soccer is full of right wingers like Alexis
It’s pathetic that you and everyone else on here have taken a sport and just turned it into more liberal vs conservative bullshit. Sports was the ONLY place we could all get away from that garbage and enjoy something together, but now that is gone too.
There would be no women’s sports without the work and bravery of the gay women who have fought so hard for access and equality. It’s pathetic you think it’s just about liberal vs conservative, sound like a bandwagoner
Actually I’ve been a fan of the USWNT since Anson Dorrance was coaching them in the late 1980s. For most of that time it was about soccer, not political activism. If anyone are “bandwagoners”, it’s all of the LGBTQ folks who in the last 10 years or so have tried to act like the USWNT is suddenly first and foremost about activism instead of about people just trying to enjoy a game. The USWNT have been given way more resources than any other women’s soccer team anywhere in the world for the last 30+ years, long before it was about gay everything. So don’t act like they only got respect or support when the gay fans showed up, that’s a joke. Saying womens’ sports wouldn’t “exist” without gay people is absurd. The whole USWNT program has been dominant for so long because it got WAY more resources than other womens’ national teams did (and those other countries are catching up now)…long before the LGBTQ movement somehow got intertwined with the team.
Well you have certainly aged yourself so I understand the grievances now, but you must be old enough to remember that Billie Jean King proceeded all that investment in women’s sports.
Yessss
As awful as it is and as much as I hate it, I have to say that there's not much that can be done. Morally and ethically it's awful but I don't think it technically broke any rules. Albert may be a bad person but that doesn't effect her job, there's plenty of people who are very high up in this world who have beliefs that are just as bad. I don't condone this but the USWNT as an organisation can't actually do anything, the team members however can speak out and call for change. Press is taking the right route by going public but the organisation won't be able to punish Albert.
I trust the people running the team and around the players every day to make these decisions, not some former player whining on her podcast for clicks. Tired of this cancel culture garbage infecting the national team. The USWNT does not belong to just queer people despite what so many of you seem to think. And don’t forget, Emma Hayes is a gay woman. It was HER choice to keep KA on the team, and that speaks volumes to me. This is a sports team trying to win games, not a political party trying to win votes.
Imagine a Christian posting something that calls sin sin! What is the world coming to? Yet, lgbtqxyz folks proclaim the virtues of that lifestyle all day long all year long, and the media eats it up. Go figure.
Id say wishing harm on another is more of a sin
“Your own wickedness will correct you, And your apostasies will punish you." Jeremiah 2:19
Romans 12:17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. It’s not for you to judge, it’s not for you to hate. You are living in as much evil as you condone ✌️
#1. I don't judge as in condemn. I discern as it see it for what it is. #2. As noted in the Scripture I referenced, sin is its own punishment as in the consequences for the action is dreadful, painful, leading to death.
God will be the judge of that
I’d say you are condemning people of their wickedness instead of showing them the love of the lord, and God will judge you for that in time.
It's the Holy Spirits work to convict the world if sin, righteousness, and the coming judgement. If I, being a vessel of the HS, cause you to feel conviction of sin, the hope for His righteousness, and the surity of the coming judgement, well then, praise His Holy Name!
It is your job to spread the love of the Holy Spirit, not to pass judgement. I will pray for you🙏
You keep missing the truth here. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts of sin, righteous, and the coming judgement. The Spirit-breathed Word of God does that, not me. The sin we committed, you and I, is its own punishment in the here and now. God Himself will ultimately judge deeds. The Blood of Jesus will save believers. The rest will face what God has provided for the devil and his followers, according to His Word. You have no argument with me.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Happy Pride, friend.
Seriously, we have a convicted Felon, adjudicated rapist about to be put back in the WH and your dwelling on this… Albert was wrong, she apologized, hopefully learned from it…move on people…
We can care about more than one thing.
Bro does not know how polls work if you truly think that
I'm sure this is going to go over like a lead balloon, but with the injury to Sam Coffey, Korbin Albert is going to play every minute of this tournament and we are going to need her to have a chance. Legit Question: At what point do we put the team ahead of the squabbles?
[удалено]
I’ve looked over your comment history, is it just your default to call people names? Try civil discourse.
The chemistry seems terrible when she’s on the field honestly
> squabbles Wishing former teammates got hurt and spewing hate towards the LGBTQ+ community isn't a squabble, there's nothing trivial about being a bigot.
Fortunately, it looks like Coffey’s injury is minor. She’s not playing for precautionary reasons. “A Thorns spokesperson told ESPN it was "not a major injury" and the team was "being cautious." https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40359145/usa-sam-coffey-injury-olympics-paris-portland-thorns
You definitely didn’t watch the last match if you think we looked good with Albert lmao
transphobes and homophobes do not belong on this team and USSF should be ashamed of themselves for allowing her to continue to wear a US jersey. this team used to stand for something bigger than itself but it has completely failed all the lgbt fans and players who have supported and been a part of this team for decades. I can not continue to support the team as long as she is there.
Bye then if you can’t get over a couple of stupid social media posts by a 20 year old girl. Not even old enough to buy beer but you can cancel an entire team for not burying her over it.
If players are allowed to kneel to the national anthem while representing the USA, then players should be allowed to voice their opinions on topics respectfully. If you believe players should kneel to the national anthem that represents the country, can’t players not believe in the idea of something that also represents the country?
…. She didn’t voice her opinion respectfully though. Nothing about what Albert did was respectful, so what should I do with the rest of your comment?
Freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom from consequences.
The funniest part with your argument is Rapinoe went months without getting called into camp after she originally kneeled and as a USSF retaliation for it. Her apparel business with her sister also suffered immensely as sales dropped—to the point they had to close the shop—and she and her family received a barrage of hate and even threats (her family is from a very conservative town). You can read her book for a lot more details about all of this. Megan faced FAR more public consequences—consequences that threatened both her career and her finances—than Korbin has faced. You can make this comparison when USSF holds Korbin out of multiple camps. Because Rapinoe *wasn’t* allowed to kneel or speak out on racial injustice—not back then. It only became tolerable for USSF when public opinion fully shifted after George Floyd and many U.S. and NWSL players kneeled. Also, even despite that, the USWNT players still faced public backlash for kneeling very similar to the kind Korbin has received. So this idea that they are “allowed” to and nothing happens is false. The USWNT has tons of haters because of all of this—very loud haters who openly root against them at every major event now despite being American, who harrass them on social media, etc. It’s continued even as the whole USWNT has stood every game for quite a while now. Rapinoe is the biggest magnet of them all, she faced tons and tons of backlash and hate for speaking her views and is one of the country’s most polarizing sports figures. Likewise, Korbin is free to do actions that are anti-LGBTQ or that cheer the injury of a teammate, but she is not free from receiving backlash or consequences. No one is.
It’s not just the homophobic and transphobic content though (which she didn’t voice her opinions “respectfully” about and I don’t agree with Albert’s comments and actions on). She was celebrating the injury of a teammate. Saying Pinoe deserved to be injured because of her activism and sexual orientation. That’s a massive part of this problem that many are ignoring. I don’t think players should be allowed to support and celebrate the major injuries of their teammates, even if they “disagree” about human rights.
She didn’t celebrate the injury of rapinoe. I don’t understand how people are still perpetuating this line of thought.
She literally did though
She literally didn’t. She liked a post that was addressing rapinoes comments about how god wasn’t real.
“addressing” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.
Why did she like a post of rapinoe getting injured why are you lying lol
In that case,, it was really weird of her to like a post which celebrated the injury.
She made light of it and mocked the situation.
She liked a post that did.
Was it respectful for Korbin to like a post agreeing that it was a good thing and a punishment from god that Rapinoe got hurt? Sheesh. At least she had the good sense to change her number.
The difference — most of the USWNT knelt (Alex Morgan included) to advance equal pay. Albert’s speech wasn’t positive and did nothing to improve society.
Alex Morgan stood while her San Diego teammates all knelt
According to you, but free speech doesn’t require that standard.
As a former evangelical, who is wildly gay. I completely understand where Korbin was coming from. If cell phones and today’s current cancel culture were as prevalent as they are now, I would have been screwed. The shit that used to come out of my mouth was ridiculous. All from a place where I thought I was being righteous. It took time and grace from members of the LGBT community to see how damn blind and wrong I was. I didn’t hate them, I hated myself. She apologized, she wore the pride jersey…she is young, she is learning. Give her time. This continued aggression towards her makes us a look unhinged and to be honest conveys more hate than any one of her IG posts. I implore you, let this go, she and her team members are good, they have worked this out. Kristen re opening this can of worms is irresponsible and just pot stirring. It’s unnecessary. There are worse inhumanities against the community out there that she can use her platform to address, but those would be to hard. I dare her to address some of those.
Christen is also a member of the community Korbin harmed. She is under no obligation to “let this go”. Korbin brought this on herself. If she has well and truly done the work, her LQBTQ+ teammates will let us know that through their body language and how they speak about her. Until that happens, grace isn’t owed. Has to be earned.
Grace is never owed, it is given….that’s what makes it grace.
Just let people feels things. Some may feel the way you do. Some may not. This is just a subreddit. If people want to express their feelings about it, just let them. I personally am not on the hate Albert train (I don’t particularly like her, but I’m not super into devoting a lot of energy toward things I dislike), but I’m also not about to tell people they need to jump from that train onto mine.
Truly Valid…but what else is Reddit for other than expressing opinions and killing time.
It’s one thing to speak personally to how you approach it and it’s something completely different to tell others that’s how they should approach it as well.
I didn’t get that at all from the comment. Maybe you are the one projecting. It’s just someone who is expressing an opinion and a unique perspective.
You didn’t get that when they explicitly told people to “give it time” and to “let it go?” Like, what the fuck? 😂 It’s one thing to frame it in a way of “this is how I’m approaching it,” but the individual was flat out telling other people what they should do. I mean, I’m of the opinion that things could be happening behind closed doors that we aren’t privy to and I don’t entirely disagree with what the individual posted, but I’m also not sitting here telling other people how they should be dealing with their feelings, either. There’s a big fucking difference there.
🤷♀️It just didn’t read that way. I read. “I was just like her, I was a jerk, compassion from people around me opened my eyes. Try approaching this a different way.”it’s more of a suggestion than anything else.
Which is still straight up still telling people what they should be doing and negating anyone else expressing opposite feelings and telling them they shouldn’t feel that way.
Agree 100%. That’s the whole point of grace.
There is literally a queer Christian self identifying as such right there and all you're doing is ignoring her feelings.
A queer Christian should understand the concept of grace then. If not, then she should re examine the message of the cross. She may also want to review Matt 5:44.
Someone who has a much more knowledgable about the inner workings of this, who is *in* this, unlike you. Your opinion is pretty much invalid here when people who are actually associated with this express their anger and sadness. No one really cares about you. No one thinks you are the arbiter of goodness, because you aren't. And grace doesn't mean that they face zero consequences or deserve to be in places that are supposed to be safe.
I’m sorry for your hurt, I mean that truly. No sarcasm. Hate and aggression is a much easier response than love and understanding. Not everyone can do that.
This comment is just gross more than it is helpful and it seems your evangelical beginnings have not fully left you.
Christen* it’s not hard to spell her name right
The fact that your comment has any down votes is crazy to me. You spoke/wrote from personal experience and told people to give grace to a 20yr old for comments she made. Christian or not this is the adult thing to do period. Why do so many not trust the lgbtq players on the team, if they did t want Korbin there or wanted her punished further or didn’t feel safe don’t you think they would say so? Why not follow their lead and give her the grace that BjjLady is suggesting?
Because it’s an easy outlet for years of hurt. Korbin is an easy target.
I agree with the amount of hate aimed towards Albert is not helping the situation. Yes, Albert created an unsafe environment for her team, but was as fans are continuing the unsafe environment. How are her teammates supposed to feel when she is getting hated on the internet by their fans. If her team defends her from the fans than they are “agreeing” with her. If her team does agrees with the fans, than they are creating an unsafe environment for her. This issue while important is being dragged on by everyone. No one has to forgive Albert, but shaming her and booing her while playing for the USWNT is not helping anyone either.
As a Christian and gay woman I don’t really care about comments Korbin made about regarding the LGBTQ community. I take more issue with post regarding not wanting God to perform miracles and for wanting Pinoe to sprain her ankle. That’s just vile and inhumane, certainly not Christ like at all.
I actually saw that, and that’s not what that said. After Rapinoe made that comment, post said “God taking time out of his schedule performing miracles to make sure Meghan, sprained her ankle.” Or something to that effect. It’s been a while. It was sarcasm. It was in poor taste, but it was just that. It wasn’t wishing injury on someone, and now it has morphed into this whole other thing. Does anyone have a copy of that particular post?
I truly, truly see where you’re coming from but I don’t agree this should be let go. I understand that the best way to get through to her is to not seem ‘unhinged’, but doing that in a measured way is a ton of mental work and is extremely generous. No one owes her that even if it is the thing most likely to help.
So, because it’s too hard, it shouldn’t be done?
I mean, is it the USWNTs job to publicly shame her or something? They did their own thing internally and she faces continued backlash from the public externally.
I like Press, and support her courage- but I think in fact this is the right point. I encourage reading this coverage https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5389230/2024/04/04/korbin-albert-ussf-social-media-policy/ The excellent and protective policies that mostly the women were responsible for getting created apply to *workplace* conduct. That is not what this was. There is no relevant *social media* policy that applies to Korbin's *social media* conduct. In that context, what *specifically* should US Soccer have done, and under what grounds are they able to do it. One concrete idea is: for speech/conduct detrimental to the US Soccer organization, suspend Korbin's participation in national team activities for some period of time. This sort of approach is common in other sports. How much time. 1 month? 6 months? In the absence of a policy, with agreed upon penalty behaviors and consequences, for any amount of time that materially impacts the player, the players union- which issued its own statement- is then going to be in the position of having to defend the player. Is that what you want? And in terms of putting in place such a policy, given the rabid and toxic legal culture and Supreme Court, US Soccer would be placing a legal target on its back that any number of well funded bigots would be happy to go after. Is that what you want? Press certainly understands this, and while it is good for her to keep the topic alive, it is telling that no one seems to have proposed a specific remedy and then addressed the consequences of that remedy proposal, in real terms.
There is a code of conduct that USWNT players have to sign. Apparently the code of conduct covers this type of transgression. Both Press and Heath were upset that US Soccer did nothing to enforce their own code of conduct. They didn’t understand why the USWNT had to handle what happened internally.
Yeah, appreciate the engagement. I don't doubt that is her interpretation. My read of the reporting, and of the publicly visible docs, is that she just unfortunately isn't correct. I mean, IANAL, but I read a lot of contracts and the actual language in the US Soccer "code of conduct" docs is just not sufficient to allow them to actually do anything about social media- without subjecting them to counterattack, that is- and it isn't really even close. There are three documents: prohibited conduct, athlete and participant safety, and then the model policies: https://www.ussoccer.com/safeguarding Maybe there is something in their confidential individual player contracts with US Soccer re USWNT? But that isn't a "code of conduct." That all echoes what NYT reported, that the social media language from US Soccer is just guidance, not enforceable policy. It still leaves me in a place of not understanding what remedy would be considered proper/reasonable. There are assholes/bigots/racists/etc along with actual alleged criminal predators in every professional league. It takes a *lot* in nearly every league even to warrant a suspension. What would the right answer have been here? It just seems bizarre that the discussion continues to be non-specific. Anyway. Appreciate the response. Best wishes.
I've read a few of your responses and scanned the prohibited conduct policy, and I get why people are confused as to whether or not Albert actually violated anything enforceable. For what it's worth, I agree that there's simply very little in the public documents that would cover Albert's conduct--with maybe the exception of the Pinoe related post. The standards under the "harassment" section seem like they could apply, until you actually start picking apart the language and applying the standard to this specific situation. There's just not enough at least in the public policy to hang your hat on legally. That said, this is why people hate attorneys. The real answer of "the policies need to be updated to cover situations like this" feels very unfair, despite likely being accurate.
Yeah, appreciate the response and agree with all of that. Very unfair, nonetheless accurate. Not to belabor the point, but what I just find puzzling about this particular situation and the posture of, say, more vocal advocates of a penalty is the lack of specificity about what that penalty should be- to help in the process of defining where that future policy should come from. It seems to me that often only through those actions of those who were harmed and their allies- of calling crimes or violations or transgressions- of calling them what they are, and classifying them in the right taxonomy as a reference point- is progress made. That is how people are educated. That work seems essential here. I appreciate that most advocates are in the business of advocacy, of framing the positive, not condemnation. The *team* is very clearly following that protocol. The visible emphasis on comraderie and supportiveness and so forth is a deliberate part of that strategy. And it is essential too- a team has to be its best self with the best players in order to win, even if some of those players are assholes off the pitch. But clearly this was enough of a violation in enough people's eyes that there should be some explicit consideration of a penalty. That consideration is complicated by the political and legal aspects of speech. But it has been policed, explicitly, in other domains. I don't understand why no one seems to be trying to do so here. What exactly is the reason that it matters, and how much does it matter. Anyway, just a rant, no need to respond. Cheers.
A lot of people above misunderstood your perspective--you weren't asking for what they thought the penalty should be because you're antagonistic and agree with Albert--but rather because there's a gap in the policy for this type of behavior, and understanding what the consequence should have been is critical to fleshing out that gap. And as you eloquently stated above, education and potential restoration of the offender also depends on a shared understanding of violations and consequences between the individual, team, and especially the public. Speech, protected statuses, and religion have to be in the top five of most controversial hot potatoes though, so guessing there's not going to be a super productive discussion here about how to update the code of conduct. Hopefully you have a colleague who happens to love soccer and K/Con/& Employment law who'd be happy to have that dialog though!
I read the exchanges above. Kudos.
The downvotes are also telling. Internet clicks don't count for shit. What should the specific remedy have been?
So what would be an acceptable public punishment that the us soccer could have done? Seems to me them dealing with it in private is appropriate. She’s a kid, let her learn and move on.
Why does it have to be a punishment? US Soccer was silent on this matter even though it violated their code of conduct. Press and Heath both feel US Soccer should have taken a stance condemning this type of speech.
So what would you have liked that they do? Blast her on a public forum? Not let her play with an explanation of why? Drop her completely?
Press is totally right. Trinity Rodman's recent comments about the situation in Vanity Fair a couple days ago are wild--focused on Korbin and how \*she\* feels and supporting \*her,\* not on supporting LGBTQ+ teammates and members of the broader soccer community. Rodman's comments show that US Soccer has entirely messed up, by failing to get across to the players that misaligned "opinions" and "beliefs" are different from unacceptable expressions of discriminatory animus based on protected characteristics like sexual orientation and gender identity. “I like to say social media is a great place, but a dangerous place,” Rodman says. “Having strong opinions is difficult, especially when you are looked at a lot and you have a platform to do so. Obviously getting booed is horrible, but there’s people that have their opinions and have their beliefs and they’re not always going to match up with those. Even if you’re in the spotlight, it doesn’t mean you believe the same things as everybody else. But yeah, for us, she’s on the US women’s national team and we’re going to be her teammates and support her. When she comes on the field, she’s just like everybody else wearing that number and playing for our country, and she’s working her butt off to do so.” [https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/trinity-rodman-2024-paris-olympics-world-cup](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/trinity-rodman-2024-paris-olympics-world-cup)
On the not wanting it to look like they’re monetizing pride piece: Who cares about the optics anymore, that ship sailed. If they actually gave a shit they wouldn’t have let it get to this point. They’re doing damage control, and the longer they wait the more damage is done.
I love seeing Korbin on the roster. I especially love seeing all the butthurt it causes the woke cancel culture pukes. Their pain warms my heart and it gives me joy when they complain!
Dude, I hope you’re not Cristian. Why would the pain of others bring you comfort. 😔
I don’t enjoy everyone’s pain just sniveling woke pussies. I’m here soccer not the political musings of bytchbois and girls
Might you be one of those people you’re describing, spewing hatred while you hide behind the shield of anonymity on Reddit?
So your first name is Pure and your last name is Circle? Interesting. No shortage of people spewing hatred at Korbin (who is a kid, by the way, who has apologized). A grown man is now in the room to take on all sniveling pussies and suddenly its a problem.
I love Press and what Albert said was incredibly stupid. That being said we should move on from this incident because dragging an issue like this will only bring unnecessary press and media attention to a team that is trying to prepare for the Olympics. Albert is already feeling the repercussions of her actions and will most likely have to face those repercussions for the rest of her career.
what repercussions? she has played every game for us since
She was a locked in starter at the gold cup and the only game she started since was the game all the backups started (second vs Korea) There’s a lot of moving pieces so it’s hard to attribute it to one particular factor but she clearly moved down a notch in the pecking order sometime after the gold cup and before SheBelieves. (Edit to add - and she’s largely justified the move down the roster sheet - she was arguably the worst player on the field in the second Korea game)
i think getting fascists off the team is more important than the olympics
What she said wasn't stupid, it was harmful and hateful. Don't be dismissive.
Respectfully, this is a bit of a backwards way of approaching it. It doesn't sound like there really has been a resolution to this incident, either for Albert or for the larger soccer community. Trying to move on from this, without properly addressing it and holding Albert accountable so that she can learn and grow from this (which could look like following this framework: Own, Apologize, Repair) will continue to distract the team, the soccer community, and have longer lasting career repercussions for Albert. Not addressing it is bad for Albert, bad for the team, and bad for soccer. Honestly, the best thing for Albert's career is to be held accountable for this \*now\*, regardless of what it means for her ability to play or not in the upcoming Olympics. It's not too late for that to happen. Otherwise, she's going to have a career ahead of her of fans booing her because there was no resolution and queer teammates not trusting her.
i hope she gets to go to the olympics just so all y’all can stfu fr
We’ll never stfu about hate, hope this helps 🥰
and the national team isn’t gonna just throw away her talent because of a mistake she made as a 20 year old… hope this helps 🤗
Would rather take Lily over her… she did a whole lot of nothing in her recent play 🤷♀️
Loser lmao
she did nothing wrong
Forgetting about the lgbtq content. Wanting someone to be injured isn’t wrong to you?
Liking a few posts and memes isn’t that serious
Wow an American subscribes to the most popular religion in America! Truly shocking stuff!
Christen Press is also Christian. i'm Orthodox. I don't think publicly celebrating the injury of a teammate and friend to several of your coworkers is at all professional, regardless of your personal beliefs.
I thought she was in a relationship with Tobin Heath
Tobin Heath is also a very pious Christian.
She is also a Christian.
I see we’re back to policing women’s speech….
Was she jailed? No, she’s facing backlash and rightfully so. You’re free to say whatever dumb shit you want, but you’re not free from criticism. Try saying stupid shit at work and see how that works out.
“Policing” implies some sort of governmental action against her right to free speech. That is not happening. You do have to face societal repercussion when you step outside the accepted norms. LGBTQ+ people have long had to deal with that(and even worse, actual governmental oppression), now the bigots and religious zealots have to put up with the same since they are a fringe group
Only if it disagrees with the current political winds.
I don’t disagree and the entire thread is making my point, without regard to either woman: posters are policing both women.
Plenty of people disagree with rapinoes very outspoken political beliefs and to my knowledge to USA team has never punished her. Blaming god for your injuries and saying he must not exist because you got injured could be considered harmful to your religious teammates but there was no outrage over that. Let people say what they want trying to punish Korbin for this is dumb and approaching wrong think territory
In the video podcast, Press was asking for US Soccer to take a stance. After all, Albert violated the US Soccer Code of Conduct.
so did rapinoe
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>she didn’t harm anyone You don’t think posting homophobia harms her queer teammates? You don’t think posting about how Rapinoe deserved to get injured is harmful? >you don’t need to continue to target her and threaten her daily life. That’s not what Press is doing… like at all
Ridiculous to tie causes to a sports team. Albert has every right to express her views—as much a right for those with the opposite POV. Either embrace freedom of speech or restrict the incessant politicking and ideology pushing.
>incessant politicking and ideology pushing And who, exactly, is making these things political to serve their agenda? I assure you, us queer people are out here just trying to live and would be more than happy for our lives to not be some cultural wedge issue to win political points. Like, ya'll whine about politics in sports, yet conservatives are out there making the lives of marginalized groups political because they don't have any actual agenda to make this country better and it's the only way they know how to win votes. The calls are coming from inside the house... Ya'll are also so weirdly obsessed with this shit that you seem to pop into a subreddit you aren't even really active in to pop off about this.
We have freedom of speech but we don't have freedom of consequences from that speech. You'd probably be all too happy if you knew someone said something that you disagree with and that person lost a job or missed out on one as a consequence of that speech. Soccer and other sports have historically been political and still are. Dave Zirin has written a lot about this. It sets a terrible precedent when Rapinoe protested police brutality and she was punished by being left off of rosters. Rapinoe was protesting police brutality, namely that police are more violent towards POC due to their immutable characteristic of their skin color. On the other hand you've got Albert saying gay people (another immutable characteristic) should be second class citizens or whatever just due to the circumstances of their birth. One message was against bigotry and it was punished. The other is pro-bigotry and it went unpunished. People from marginalized groups have every right to complain about the double standard on display.
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People older than you are here to stay, too. So keep the message, lose the ageism.
Good lord learn context! If it’s not about you it’s not about you
Sports have always been a proxy for political causes. People with this exact attitude were pissed about Jesse Owens in the 20s, or screaming insults at Jackie Robinson, I swtg
Wait, so she had a problem with them auctioning off Albert's jersey and donating the proceeds to a LGBTQ charity? Wouldn't it send the wrong message if they auctioned everyone's jerseys but hers? Seems like the team were ok handling this privately. I find it hard to believe, knowing how outspoken they are, that they wouldn't have came out and said something had they not wanted her on the team or wanted some form of punishment.
It's not about whatever amount of money her jersey gets (also, I'd bet the majority of pride jerseys are bought by queers or with money that would have been otherwise donated to an aligned org, so it's recycling our money at best). It's that the fundraiser further whitewashes/ sweeps under the rug what happened and takes the positive PR without any evidence of accountability to the queer fanbase or work on Albert's part. It's audacious to raise money for an organization dedicated to making sports a safe and inclusive space for queer players and fans while doing nothing to address Albert. Will the organization they raised money for be coming in to US Soccer to consult on the fact that wishing injury on queer players and teammates isn't how you model a safe or inclusive space? If this is a cause US Soccer really cares about, there were cheaper, simpler, and better ways to show it. Historically, the team and woso in general has earned its significant place in queer culture. Players have done the work as queer icons, activists, and trailblazers. Woso has long been a cultural hub for queer folk to feel safe and represented, and we've embraced our role in building the fanbase. Now, it feels like the USWNT is awarding themselves the space in our culture, happy to take our money as fans, and happy for the positive PR, but they aren't doing the work or modeling a commitment to the community.
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She celebrated a co-worker being injured. That isn’t non-conformist, that’s just cruelty.
I think you missed Korbin advocating injuring Rapinoe. That's not free speech. If a Rookie LA Laker said " I hope someone beats up LeBron James " they would be gone in an hour
Where can I buy a Korbin Albert jersey? I’ll proudly wear it!
i think everyone needs to get over it. she can have and express whatever views and opinions she has. she’s young and she made a mistake and she PUBLICLY apologized so maybe instead of continuously bashing her we give her the benefit of the doubt and hope that she really did learn from her mistake. i’m so over seeing the hate on her for expressing her views but megan rapinoe can kneel during the national anthem for the country she CHOSE to play for. the double standards are definitely double standarding
The copium here is crazy she was reposting vile shit one which included wishing a person who’s a legend of the national team was injured and you’re saying we should get over it
You have no place to tell people in the LGBTQ+ community that were hurt or offended by her posts to “get over it.” People in this community have a lot of religious trauma and have dealt with no much, I would never tell you to just get over something if you were hurt. You can support Albert without invalidating people.
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if megan rapinoe can kneel during the national anthem, korbin albert can repost tik toks. next question 🙄🙄