Jaelene Hinkle says she refused to play for the United States last year because Her Christian faith prevented her from wearing a shirt honouring LGBT pride month.The North Carolina Courage defender, was selected for games against Sweden and Norway in June 2017 when the shirt numbers were rainbow coloured.
No formal reason for her absence was given by the national team at the time.
“I felt convicted in my spirit that it wasn’t my job to wear it,” she said.Hinkle, who said she was “very disappointed” to give up “a little girl’s dream”, has not been named in a US squad since.
Her decision has been supported by team-mates and her club manager, Englishman Paul Riley.