Former U.S. women’s national team star Sam Mewis has urged Korbin Albert to demonstrate the work she’s doing to address her anti-LGBTQ+ social media activity.
Albert was named to the USWNT Olympic roster on Wednesday, with head coach Emma Hayes insisting afterwards that the midfielder is working hard behind the scenes amid an ongoing controversy over her posts on TikTok.
“There’s been a lot of work that’s been going on in the background,” Hayes told the media after naming the PSG midfielder to her roster.
“Korbin has had to learn,” Hayes added. “She’s a young person who’s understood fully the implications of her social media activity.
“The conversations we have had have been to talk about the importance of what we have to be mindful of, and how we are all part of an environment that’s one that appreciates and understands the damage that can do.”
Albert herself hasn’t addressed the issue publicly since she issued an apology in March after her social media activity was discovered by fans online.
In her apology, Albert said that “liking and sharing posts that are offensive, insensitive and hurtful was immature and disrespectful, which was never my intent.”
Since then, she has been rebuked by USWNT players past and present, but has also continued to be a key figure for the team. The 20-year-old has played in all 10 of the team’s matches in 2024 thus far.
After the Olympic roster was released, Mewis addressed the issue on her podcast on The Women’s Game. While the World Cup-winner isn’t writing off Albert for good, she did say that the public should be given evidence of her growth.
“Korbin Albert’s selection to this roster is upsetting to a lot of people, especially within our women’s soccer community,” Mewis said. “Earlier this year, Korbin had shared some homophobic and transphobic content on her social media. While the team has expressed that they are handling it all internally and Korbin did issue an apology on her social media, fans and supporters of the team haven’t been privy to any work or ongoing conversations regarding the situation.
“Some players and even head coach Emma Hayes have addressed this issue, maybe even suggesting an opportunity for us all to accept and move on. While I believe that people should be given an opportunity to change and grow, there are endless opportunities to demonstrate this growth to the community that has been hurt.
“The actions that were a problem were out in the open, and so to some extent the growth should be out in the open as well. And I think that that is what’s missing from this equation right now.”
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