Jaelene Hinkle: The untold story of the USWNT, talent or faith?

While the USWNT have enjoyed continuous success on the field, just winning their fourth Women’s World Cup in Lyon, France, they have just ran into some controversy. It is being reported that former USWNT player Jaelene Hinkle may have been left off the team because of her religious beliefs.

Jaelene Hinkle is one of the star left backs in the NWSL, playing for the North Carolina Courage. Hinkle even helped lead her team to an NWSL title, the same league that fellow USWNT players, Megan Rapinoe, Lindsey Horan and Crystal Dunn play for.

The 26-year-old was first called up to the squad in 2017 but according to the Washington Times, turned it down because of the following,

"“I gave myself three days to just seek and pray and determine what [God] was asking me to do in this situation.” Hinkle has not played for the national team since. After she was left off the World Cup roster, coach Jill Ellis told reporters that the decision was “solely based on soccer,” an explanation greeted with widespread skepticism."

To add context, Hinkle was referring to having to wear the team’s Pride jerseys, which she was not comfortable with due to her Christian beliefs. While she has her own beliefs, the USWNT does as well and those include pride, inclusion, standing against President Donald Trump and equality in terms of treatment and pay. But doesn’t that make them hypocrites of some sort?

Inclusion is amazing and is a crucial part of football across the world, but you must accept everyone. Shutting someone out because of their Christian views is surely not the answer. However, when you go against coach Jill Ellis, and captain Megan Rapinoe, you might not be asked back to the team.

Rapinoe of course, made it her mission in her speech during the USWNT’s championship parade to stress inclusion in today’s society. The thing is, she is doing exactly the opposite. On top of being a bad judgement on a personal level, it is detrimental to the team as many have said she could have easily played on this talented roster of stars.

Hinkle gave her dreams up for standing up in something she fully believes and has her heart invested in. Instead of getting a petition, or a viral post on The Players’ Tribune, she gets nothing. When she competes in cities like Portland in the NWSL, she gets booed and taunted for being religiously involved and outspoken about it.

The USWNT must fix this because it could be a public relations disaster. Not just that, it is the right thing to do, and if they truly believe in their message to everyone, they would include her as well.