Player’s religion ‘never the problem’
U.S. goalie slams ‘homophobic’ Christian’s video
WASHINGTON U.S. women’s national team member Ashlyn Harris took to social media Monday to address Jaelene Hinkle, who declined a chance to play for the U.S. team in 2017 because she said her Christian beliefs wouldn’t allow for her to wear jerseys designed to honour members of the LGBT community.
“Hinkle, our team is about inclusion,” Harris wrote on Twitter. “Your religion was never the problem. The problem is your intolerance and you are homophobic.”
Harris, a goalkeeper who is engaged to teammate Ali Krieger, was reacting to a 2018 video from the Christian Broadcasting Network.
“I just felt so convicted in my spirit that it wasn’t my job to wear this jersey,” Hinkle says in the video clip.
She later added: “I’m essentially giving up the one dream little girls dream about their entire life, and I’m saying no to (it) . ... I knew in my spirit I was doing the right thing. I knew that I was being obedient.”
The video was shared Monday by a Twitter user who wrote that the U.S. team was apparently “not a very welcoming place for Christians.”
“Don’t you dare say our team is ‘not a welcoming place for Christians,’” Harris wrote.
Appearing to then address Hinkle again, Harris wrote: “You weren’t around long enough to know what this team stood for. This is actually an insult to the Christians on our team. S(h)ame on you.”
Harris and Krieger are among several gay members of the team, including co-captain Megan Rapinoe and coach Jill Ellis.
The U.S. team also has players who have shared their Christian faith, including Julie Ertz, Alyssa Naeher, Tobin Heath, Morgan Brian and Allie Long.
“I continue to work on all things, and that goes for my relationship with Christ as well,” Ertz told Sports Spectrum before the World Cup. The midfielder “engages in Bible study groups and pre-game prayer huddles with some of her teammates,” according to the magazine.
“These Bible studies really help me grow and keep me accountable,” Ertz said. “It brings me closer to my teammates; we continue to grow as players and persons.”
In 2015, after the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage, Hinkle posted a lengthy note to Instagram.
“I believe with every fibre in my body that what was written 2,000 years ago in the Bible is undoubtedly true,” she wrote. “It’s not a fictional book. It’s not a pick and choose what you want to believe.”
Two years later, Hinkle declined a call-up to the national team for a pair of friendlies against Sweden and Norway for “personal reasons.” The U.S. uniforms for those games had rainbow jersey numbers to honour the LGBT community.
She hasn’t played for the national team since; she was invited to a training camp in 2018 but did not make the roster.