Did the US Women's Soccer Team Cut a 'Top' Star for Christian Faith?
She’s been called the “top left defender” in U.S. women’s soccer.
She was instrumental in helping her team win a 2016 championship.
She also helped her team win the 2018 NWSL championship.
But despite all of that, 26 year-old Jaelene Hinkle wasn’t on the field playing for the 2019 U.S. women’s World Cup soccer team.
There isn’t any reason to believe it’s because her skills suddenly deserted her or the team found a better player.
Fox News suggested Hinkle may have raised the ire of some within the soccer community when, in 2017, she refused to wear a special jersey commemorating Gay Pride Month.
When she declined to wear it for religious reasons, crowds began to boo her and she was later dropped from the national team — though reportedly for soccer-related reasons, according to The Irish Times.
Hinkle, an outpsoken Christian, had previously posted her thoughts on Instagram back in 2015 after gay marriage became legalized.
“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,” Hinkle wrote. “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.”
Hinkle’s message continued, not as one of division but of love and understanding.
“My heart is that as Christians we don’t begin to throw a tantrum over what has been brought into law today, but we become that much more loving,” Hinkle said. “That through our love, the lost, rejected, and abandoned find Christ. The rainbow was a convent made between God and all his creation that never again would the world be flooded as it was when He destroyed the world during Noah’s time. It’s a constant reminder that no matter how corrupt this world becomes, He will never leave us or forsake us. Thank you Lord for your amazing grace, even during times of trial and confusion. Love won over 2,000 years ago when the greatest sacrifice of all time was made for ALL mankind.”
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After she declined to wear the Gay Pride jersey in 2017, Hinkle told 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.”
The decision resulted in soccer fans booing her while waving rainbow flags.
But interestingly, she was never asked to play on the national team again. The coach, Jill Ellis — who is married to another woman — did ask Hinkle to play on a Tournament of Nations team, but then cut her a few days later — a move that raised speculation that Ellis’ invitation was extended to Hinkle only to avoid a lawsuit, according to The Daily Wire.
While some may be offended she wasn’t invited to be on the World Cup team, Hinkle’s response has been inspiringly measured. She told The 700 Club, “If I never get another national team call-up again, then that’s just a part of [God’s] plan, and that’s OK.”
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