One of the best women’s soccer players in the country from the national squad that just won the World Cup did not make the team, leaving many to wonder if this might be because she’s an open Christian.
Jaelene Hinkle, 26, “has been called the top left defender in the U.S. game,” according to The Washington Times. Fox News said Hinkle “helped her team win the NWSL championship and previously helped it win a title in 2016 when it was known as the Western New York Flash.”
If she’s so good, why wasn’t she on the women’s team?
The Irish Times, described Hinkle as “the finest left-back in the NWSL,” but also noted, “Hinkle likely would have been a fish out of water on the uber-woke women’s national team, some of whose biggest stars are openly lesbian, raising questions about whether she would have thrown off the squad’s chemistry.”
Hinkle objected publicly in 2015 to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that legalized gay marriage. At the time, she wrote on Instagram:
Hinkle Stuck To Her Beliefs
When the women’s team wore special team jerseys celebrating Gay Pride Month for two international matches in 2017, Hinkle decided not to participate, telling the “700 Club,” “I just felt so convicted in my spirit that it wasn’t my job to wear this jersey. I gave myself three days to just seek and pray and determine what [God] was asking me to do in this situation.”
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After that interview, when her North Carolina team played against the Portland women’s team in Portland, Oregon, pro-LGBT fans booed Hinkle. The Washington Times reported, “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.”
Religious clash leaves USA’s best left back an observer of World Cup bid https://t.co/sfMYK0BLQV
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) July 7, 2019
“Ellis, who is married to a woman, did call up Hinkle last year for the Tournament of Nations but then cut her and one other player a few days later, fueling speculation that she was invited only to stave off a religious freedom lawsuit,” The Times added.
You don’t have to read between the lines too much here.
Hinkle told the 700 Club, “I’m essentially giving up the one dream little girls dream about their entire life. It was very disappointing. And I think that’s where the peace trumps the disappointment, because I knew in my spirit I was doing the right thing. I knew I was being obedient. Just because you’re obedient doesn’t make it easy … If I never get another national team call-up again then that’s just a part of [God’s] plan, and that’s OK.”
Jaelene Hinkle, with grace, might believe this is OK, but is it really?