Megan Rapinoe Speaks Out Against USWNT Player Korbin Alert For Sharing Anti-LGBTQ Posts

Star soccer player Megan Rapinoe has publicly criticized Korbin Albert, a young midfielder for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT), for her propagation of anti-LGBTQ content and posts that mocked Rapinoe’s career-ending Achilles injury.

The two-time World Cup winner released a strong statement in response to Albert’s social media activity that expressed her disappointment and called for greater inclusivity and respect within the sport.

Albert, a 20-year-old midfielder who previously played for Notre Dame before she went professional in France, came under scrutiny when fans noticed that she had reposted several pieces of anti-LGBTQ content on her TikTok account. Additionally, one fan discovered that Albert had liked a post that made light of Rapinoe’s ankle injury in her farewell game.

Rapinoe took to her Instagram Story to address the issue, though she didn’t mention Albert by name, questioned whether Albert had contributed to creating a safer and more inclusive environment and emphasized the harmful consequences of hate.

Rapinoe expressed her concern for those affected by discrimination, particularly transgender individuals, and stood in solidarity with them.

She wrote in her Instagram story, “For people who want to hide behind ‘my beliefs,’ I would just ask one question, are you making any type of space safer, more inclusive, more whole, any semblance of better, bringing the best out of anyone… Because if you aren’t, all you believe in is hate. And kids are literally killing themselves because of this hate. Wake TF up!”

Becky Sauerbrunn, a longtime captain of the USWNT, endorsed Rapinoe’s statement with a repost of it on her own Instagram Story where she commended the statement with a “Well said.”

Hours after Rapinoe’s post, Albert issued an apology on her Instagram Story where she acknowledged the offensive and hurtful nature of the posts she had liked and shared, and expressed disappointment in her own actions and the negative impact they had on teammates, fans and others who were offended. Albert expressed her belief in the importance of safe and respectful spaces in sports and pledged to learn from her mistakes and improve.

Rapinoe’s retirement from soccer was marked by a distressing non-contact injury in her farewell game. The emotional moment saw her leave the field in tears before she underwent surgery. Meanwhile, Albert is considered one of the rising stars in the USWNT’s upcoming generation and has contributed to the team’s recent Gold Cup victory. Despite her potential, Albert now faces early scrutiny of her professional career due to the controversy surrounding her social media activity.

Rapinoe is not new at taking celebrities to task. In 2021, she slammed NBA star Draymond Green while speaking to uInterview, “You kind of showed your whole a-–,” following his controversial tweets about the WNBA’s push for wage equality.

“It’s really unfortunate in the position that he’s in, having all of the resources that he has and the ability to have a much more educated opinion, that he just hasn’t,” Rapinoe said, “and then dragged all these people in it by tagging them in it obviously and speaking about it at a time when, you know, the tournament was going on and all that we saw with the lack of investment, with the lack of resources, with the lack of funding, that’s just really frustrating that that’s the take that you have.”