U.S. women’s national team interim head coach Twila Kilgore reiterated the team’s disappointment over Korbin Albert’s social media activity, but would not answer whether her removal from the SheBelieves Cup roster was ever an option.
Albert has found herself in a firestorm over her anti-LGBTQ+ activity on social media, with several USWNT players past and present calling the 20-year-old out for her actions.
The PSG midfielder apologized after fans uncovered a series of offensive posts, which transpired just days after the USWNT had named her to its roster for the SheBelieves Cup.
Kilgore spoke to the press on Friday, a day ahead of the tournament opener against Japan. She began her remarks with a prepared statement that echoed the words of Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan two days prior.
“I just wanted to quickly address Korbin’s social media interactions,” Kilgore began. “It is disappointing when somebody falls short of the very high standards that we set within this team. This team has always been a beacon of respect, inclusion, and demonstrated great allyship through actions for underrepresented and marginalized groups including the LGBTQ+ community. And we will continue to do so.
“As Lindsey and Alex mentioned, this team has never shied away from hard conversations. And today we’re here continuing to work on getting better, continuing to work on preparing ourselves to make ourselves proud, make our fans proud and put ourselves in the best position to continue to look towards success as we start this tournament.”
Kilgore would later be asked if removing Albert from the SheBelieves Cup was ever an option, or if her playing time could be affected due to the controversy.
“There’s been several internal conversations about this that will remain internal,” she responded to the first question.
“In terms of talking about lineup and playing time and things like that, I think as you’ve probably gathered watching from my interim time here, I don’t typically talk at all about who will be playing and who won’t be playing. And Korbin is available for this tournament.”
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