North Carolina Courage player Jaelene Daniels will not be in uniform as her team celebrates Pride Night at Sahlen’s Stadium Friday night against the Washington Spirit.
Daniels had in 2018 declined a U.S. women’s national team call-up over her refusal to wear Pride-themed rainbow numbers, citing her Christian faith. According to the club, she has opted to sit out a critical game against the Washington Spirit over the same issue, a development first reported by WRAL.
“Jaelene will not be rostered tonight as she has made the decision to not wear our Pride jersey,” said the Courage in a team statement supplied to Pro Soccer Wire. “While we’re disappointed with her choice, we respect her right to make that decision for herself. We’re excited to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community with our fans, players and staff tonight and look forward to hosting our first ever Pride Festival before kickoff.”
Daniels is eighth on the team in minutes played in the 2022 regular season, and had appeared in all nine of the Courage’s games coming into Friday’s match.
North Carolina had originally scheduled its Pride Night match for earlier in July, but that match against Angel City FC was postponed due to a Covid-19 protocol breach that also saw the club fined by NWSL.
Daniels had come out of retirement to re-sign with North Carolina this offseason, causing an intense backlash among supporters of the team and from around the NWSL. That outcry resulted in a team statement on the matter, with the Courage saying that the decision to bring Daniels back to the team “was not made lightly and included significant conversations between organization leadership and Jaelene. The priority expressed in those conversations is the safety of our players and maintaining an inclusive, respectful space for the entire team.”
Attendance at North Carolina games has drawn scrutiny, with North Carolina veteran Merritt Mathias drawing a connection between Daniels’ return and what she felt was fading support.
“Personally, I don’t think we’ve done a great job of that in the past years. And that is fair. I don’t think that has been any secret,” said Mathias back in May. “We didn’t have a Pride Night for three years, we didn’t wear a jersey. Everyone knows all these things and I think bringing back Jaelene was a decision made by the club and as a player who is part of the community, you have to work through those struggles but that is what a team is about. You have to be able to embrace people of all different religions, of all different views, of all different backgrounds.
“For me, I think it is really important that we have a voice as much as the club. That there is a group here that truly, truly loves and supports and is here for the LGBTQ community. I think that is a really important message to get out there, because we definitely miss you guys. We definitely miss our fans. They are a huge, huge reason why we were so successful for so many years. The way they had our back and the support we had day-in and day-out. I hope putting a good product on the field gets people back, but also knowing that you’re loved and believed in.
“From a team standpoint, we love and believe in our fans. For sure. We know how important they are and we definitely miss them. It is still a long season. Hopefully we can get a product out there that is winning and we are proud of. But I think this is a group that fans can be really proud of. For what they stand for and just the entertainment factor that they have and the beliefs that they have and the people that they are. If you don’t like one player, then there are 25, 26 other ones to choose from. Find someone you love.”
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