As a player, I always believed in the sanctity of the group: if you went against the majority in the locker room, if you went against what they believe to be right, then I was very, very hard on you.
Just ask my teammate at Everton who refused to join our Pride campaign because it went against his beliefs. I told him: ‘You are bang out of order. This cause is far bigger than you.’
Other players agreed but they wouldn’t rock the boat. I was always more outspoken – I’d tell the player in private and I’d tell them in front of the group.
It is impossible to get 25 people to agree on everything, of course. But a team is a family. And that means we all have to pull in the same direction.
Unfortunately, even the best teams can be engulfed by division. Take the USWNT, which kicks off its Olympic campaign against Zambia on Thursday.
Midfielder Korbin Albert was controversially selected for the USWNT’s Olympics roster
DailyMail.com columnist Tim Howard
After midfielder Korbin Albert shared anti-LGBTQ posts on social media, she has been publicly criticized by teammates and she has been booed by supporters.
But new manager Emma Hayes has stuck by the 20-year-old – ignoring fan backlash to select her for the Olympic roster. It’s a big call that comes with big risks.
But is it the right one? Well, my opinion has changed recently – thanks to Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes.
The Kansas City Chiefs faced a brewing scandal earlier this offseason, when kicker Harrison Butker made a controversial commencement speech, telling women that one of their most important roles in life will be ‘homemaker’.
It caused a stink and it put his Chiefs teammates and coaches in a very difficult position.
I thought Butker was out of line and if he was in my locker room, I’d have told him that. I’m still someone who thinks: if I have a stance and it’s the right one and you don’t come around to it, I’ll be disappointed. But Mahomes and Kelce really opened my eyes.
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce both spoke out about Chiefs teammate Harrison Butker
The Kansas City kicker faced fierce backlash earlier this year after a commencement speech
They are leaders on that team and they argued that we live in a world where not everyone’s going to agree. But we support each other as a family and we try to understand where other people are coming from – even if we don’t see eye-to-eye. That is much more accepting than I would have been.
But now I see the other side. Now I’m not stupid enough to think that my opinion is the only one that matters. Now I know you have to listen. You have to have conversations.
So if I was on the USWNT and Albert was in my locker room, I would not be so hardline. I wouldn’t feel like my voice has to be heard and there has to be one way of thinking. I look at how a great team like the Chiefs dealt with Butker and realize that I was wrong.
Albert has apologized for her social media posts. But that doesn’t mean she has fundamentally changed – she has been brought up a certain way, her beliefs are important to her and those feelings are valid.
The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder apologized for sharing anti-LGBTQ social media posts
The problem is that they jar with the core values of a USWNT which has been on the front lines – fighting for the LGBT community, raising awareness and doing so much good. You can imagine how hurtful it is when one of their own doesn’t share those beliefs.
That would strain my relationship with the player – on the training field and on the pitch. But it’s vital to remember one thing: you have to co-exist with these people every day, you spend more time with them than your family.
So it is up to Hayes and her players to find some other common ground to cling on to. That means having serious conversations. That requires senior players to say: we don’t agree and that is difficult because we are so passionate about this. But there has to be a watershed moment and an olive branch.
Fortunately, in soccer as in life, something always comes up. There will be another difficult moment for the USWNT and maybe Albert and her teammates will see eye-to-eye on that. I have been down this road and they will find something that brings them back together.
Albert, 20, has been booed by USWNT supporters and publicly criticized by some teammates
New United States coach Emma Hayes (pictured) ignored the noise to select Albert for Paris
At Everton, my teammate heard me out and respectfully declined to join the Pride campaign. But our desire to fight for the badge became a common cause that helped us get past those disagreements. Fans don’t forget so easily, though, and it’s hard to have sympathy for Albert.
Yes, she has a target on her back now. Yes, she is under more pressure to perform. But that’s on her. As athletes, we have the option to speak out or stay silent. But we must understand that if we choose to take a stand, we will be scrutinized and even ridiculed.
Hayes knows that. She knows how selecting Albert could impact the dynamic and culture of her team. She knows that anything other than winning gold will count as a failure and that if the team is dogged by in-fighting, her decision will be the reason why. But she thought it was worth it. Hayes is a winner who understands the scrutiny of soccer’s top jobs.
It is important that she lays down a marker in her first major tournament. She has already shown she won’t shy away from tough calls.