A few days ago, several news outlets reported that the U.S. Women’s National Team — which recently won the World Cup soccer championship — may have ditched star player Jaelene Hinkle because of her religious views. Now, the backup goalie of the team, Ashlyn Harris, has basically confirmed that, while simultaneously putting the blame for it squarely on Hinkle’s shoulders.
Harris responded to a conversation between Hinkle and Catholic advocate Obianuju Ekeocha. Ekeocha tweeted on Sunday:
Jaelene Hinkle, is the 26-year-old American footballer who gave up the opportunity to be in the USWNT.
I was very curious to know what happened so I went in search of her interview with CBN.
Apparently, the US women’s Football team is not a very welcoming place for Christians. pic.twitter.com/iWXrG4Dkcw
— Obianuju Ekeocha (@obianuju) July 14, 2019
As the Daily Wire reports, Hinkle really is a star player in women’s soccer:
Jaelene Hinkle, 26, “has been called the top left defender in the U.S. game,” according to The Washington Times. Fox News noted 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.”
However, she is no longer welcome on the team. As Harris’ tweet points out, this is because of Hinkle’s views on traditional marriage. In 2015, for example, Hinkle dared to publicly disagree with the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruling that legalized same-sex marriage. On Instagram, Hinkle explained her views:
Jesus didn’t come to save those who already believed in Him. He came so that the lost, rejected, and abandoned men and women would find Him and believe. I believe with every fiber in my body that what was written 2,000 years ago in the Bible is undoubtedly true. It’s not a fictional book. It’s not a pick and choose what you want to believe. You either believe it, or you don’t. This world may change, but Christ and His Word NEVER will.
Then, in 2017, the women’s team wore special team jerseys celebrating Gay Pride Month for two international matches. Hinkle turned down the offer to play in those two matches because the message sent by the jerseys went against her faith.
“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,” she explained afterward on the 700 Club. She added that although she would love to play for the national team in other matches, her faith came first.
“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.”
You’d think that these statements would be quite acceptable, but goalie Ashlyn Harris begs to differ. In response to Hinkle’s conversation with Ekeocha, Harris tweeted:
Don’t you dare say our team is ‘not a welcoming place for Christians’. You weren’t around long enough to know what this team stood for. This is actually an insult to the Christians on our team. Same on you.
— Ashlyn Harris (@Ashlyn_Harris) July 15, 2019
“Hinkle, our team is about inclusion. Your religion was never the problem. The problem is your intolerance and you are homophobic. You don’t belong in a sport that aims to unite and bring people together. You would never fit into our pack or what this team stands for.”
Read that one sentence again: “You don’t belong in a sport that aims to unite and bring people together.” The sport is supposedly aiming to unite and bring people together… and the women’s soccer team proves that by excluding a player with different religious views. Harris is so blinded by her ideology that she doesn’t even see this blatantly obvious contradiction.
Harris then added in a follow-up tweet:
“Don’t you dare say our team is ‘not a welcoming place for Christians’. You weren’t around long enough to know what this team stood for. This is actually an insult to the Christians on our team. Same [sic] on you.”
I’m just going to assume that she meant “shame on you,” rather than “same on you,” because the latter doesn’t make much sense. The main point is that, with her tweets, Harris actually proves Hinkle right. Christians are only welcome on the team if they don’t let their faith guide their behavior. If it’s just theory, fine. But actually being a practicing Christian? Oh no. That’s not done! A person like that doesn’t fit into “the pack.”
Of course, supposedly woke humanists who try to force their views on others are welcome. Always.
As an aside, note that Harris doesn’t even limit herself to the team’s snubbing of Hinkle for the World Cup. She actually argues that the defender doesn’t belong in the sport itself.
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