Sorry, Carli.
Where the former USWNT star got it wrong in her post-match analysis.
I was not prepared to be simmering with anger at Carli Lloyd at 4:30 a.m., but that’s exactly where I found myself this morning after the U.S. Women’s National Team’s 0-0 draw against Portugal in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
When live coverage shifted to the FOX Sports studio just after the conclusion of the match, Lloyd, a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion for the USWNT, wasted no time in voicing her reaction.
“I made some comments when I retired in 2021 that I felt that there was a shift within this team, within the federation, within the culture, the mentality,” she said. “The importance and meaning of winning has changed; what has come from winning has become more important.
“It started to shift post-2020. I think there’s just a lot of off-the-field things that are happening. And, you know, you never want to take anything for granted. You put on that jersey and you want to give it everything you have for the people who came before you, for the people that are going to come after you. I’m just not seeing that passion. It was lackluster. It was uninspiring. . . . Winning and training and doing all that you can to be the best possible individual player is not happening.”
Hang on.
“What has come from winning has become more important.”
Like what, Carli? You mean, like, equal pay or long overdue sponsorship deals?
“I think there’s just a lot of off-the-field-things that are happening.”
You mean, like, using the platform to fight for social justice issues?
Presumably sensing her insinuations (and viewer reactions), Lloyd’s studio co-analyst Alexi Lalas gave Lloyd a chance to clarify.
“Is it about appearances? Is it about fame? Is it about money?” he asked. “Is it about all the other things that have come to this team for now a number of years? Is that getting in the way of what has given them, ultimately, the platform? I just want to make sure I’m clear with what you’re saying.”
But Lloyd, long-known for publicly displaying her commitment to the USWNT, didn’t back down. “We saw before the game the dancing,” she said, referring to the team’s looseness before the match. “There’s a difference between confidence and arrogance. And I think that’s a fine line of where is the direction going with that. It’s okay to be confident. But you never want to cross the line into being arrogant. And this is exactly what can come and bite you.”
Hang on again.
“We saw before the game the dancing.”
Dancing. Carli, no! The HORROR that these women might be enjoying themselves.
Look, Carli was right about the on-the-field product. It was lackluster and uninspiring. Frankly, it sucked. But her veiled commentary carried with it a “I suffered, so you should too” weightiness that I can’t stand—in any context.
It gave me the same vibes as the time one of the prominent female shareholders at my old law firm proudly told me that she came back to work just days after having her first child. She said it as if it were some badge of honor.
Gross.
Yes, the playing conditions are better now than when Lloyd played. But that doesn’t mean the women of today’s USWNT are working any less hard or are coming to matches any less focused.
This kind of “this generation of women doesn’t want to work hard” narrative is not only lazy but dangerous, particularly when it comes from the mouth of a former USWNT standout like Lloyd.
The members of the USWNT are finally getting the equitable treatment they deserve; to suggest they can’t handle the (hard-earned) fruits of their labor or that their (well-deserved) fame has become a distraction is the kind of fodder that a certain crowd of right-leaning humans salivate over.
There are problems with this USWNT, no doubt. But they are on-the-field soccer problems.
Many of the women on the current USWNT squad won a World Cup while battling their own federation, not to mention the former President of the United States. They can handle what comes from winning.
And they can dance, too.
Ding….spot on. I saw a FB post by a women on one of the sports forums say they love the USA but hope the “woke” girls get their asses kicked and lose because they don’t really represent the real America. I know, one post but….God forbid you can care about equality and play great soccer too. I’m still hopeful they can find another gear and leave a few skid marks on the pitch.
You GO, Steph!