Controversial U.S. women’s national team midfielder Corbin Albert will be named to the 18-man squad for this summer’s Paris Olympics.
The news was broken Wednesday when U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Emma Hayes announced her squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics, which included 10 players who will compete in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup but did not include star player Alex Morgan.
But Albert’s selection drew a lot of attention due to anti-LGBTQ+ social media posts she made earlier this year (for which she later apologized), which led to her being booed by fans at a U.S. women’s national team game.
Hayes said Albert’s selection was based on “ability” and what she can offer the women’s national team on the pitch in Paris.
“I think she proved in the Gold Cup that she can play a lot of matches in a row.” Hayes told reporters on Wednesday. “She is capable of playing all three midfield positions. [central midfielder] This is the best position for her.”
The girls’ team coach also acknowledged the controversy surrounding Hayes.
“There’s no denying that a lot of work has been done behind the scenes to work with Corbyn,” Hayes said. “As I’ve expressed on a number of occasions, it’s really important that everyone on this team understands the importance of not only being tolerant and respectful, but also understanding the things that are important to all of us.”
“Corbyn has had to learn. From my experience with her, she is a young person who fully understands the impact of social media activity. That is between Corbyn and me so I won’t go into detail, but the conversation we had was about what we need to be careful about and the importance of us all being part of an environment that recognises and understands the damage it can do.”
At the end of March, Albert shared a TikTok post of a Christian sermon that said being gay and “feeling transgender” was wrong.
The 20-year-old rising soccer star deleted the post and apologised, calling it “insensitive and hurtful” and calling his behaviour “immature and disrespectful”.
Albert also reportedly liked an Instagram post mocking former U.S. women’s national team star Megan Rapinoe for being injured in the final game of her career, including the caption, “God is working a miracle to make Megan Rapinoe sprain her ankle in the last game of her life.”
The midfielder was heckled at U.S. women’s national team games in April and earlier this month, and Hayes said Albert has heard the negative reactions at games.
“I think she’s been through a really, really tough time. She’s really struggled,” Hayes said Wednesday.
The coach of the U.S. women’s national team defended Albert’s character.
“Having spent a limited amount of time with Corbin, I can say first-hand that she’s a really lovely person who really cares about the things that matter most,” Hayes said. “Like all of us, she spends time working on herself, and I’m excited to continue to take that further with her. I want everyone to know that my job is to continue to do that, and I want the fans to embrace Corbin wholeheartedly. I think she’s a really great person.”
Since being called up to the women’s national team in November last year, Albert has played in 11 matches, including the CONCACAF World Cup.
