USWNT interim head coach Twila Kilgore opened her media availability on Friday addressing Korbin Albert’s social media activity, calling it “disappointing.”
Both captain Lindsey Horan and long-time veteran Alex Morgan addressed it earlier this week, saying that the team had conversations internally after Albert's activity came to light.
“We’ve worked extremely hard to uphold the integrity of this national team through all of the generations, and we are extremely, extremely sad that this standard was not upheld,” Horan said. “Our fans and our supporters feel like this is a team that they can rally behind, and it’s so important that they feel and continue to feel undeniably heard and seen.”
On Friday, Kilgore confirmed that such conversations had taken place, noting that “this team has never shied away from hard conversations.” It’s a sentiment that is similar to what was shared by Morgan.
Kilgore noted that Albert’s social media activity does fall short of the expectations within the team, although it’s unclear if U.S. Soccer can discipline social media activity.
“It is disappointing when somebody falls short of the very high standards that we set within this team,” Kilgore said. “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.”
Albert has apologized for her social media activity, which included reposting anti-LGBTQ+ posts and appearing to like a post making light of Megan Rapinoe’s injury in her final professional game.
Kilgore said that the team is “continuing to work on getting better” and putting themselves in the best position to succeed in the SheBelieves Cup.
Albert, who was called in for the tournament, is available to play, per Kilgore.
