x This world is falling farther and farther away from God... All that can be done by believers is to continue to pray. Ã¢ÂÂ Jaelene Hinkle (@JaeHinkle_15) June 26, 2015

She also took to Instagram, posting an image of the Human Rights Campaign’s red equal sign converted into a cross. She pirated the marriage equality movement’s “Love Wins” slogan and proselytized, imploring her fellow Christians to not “throw a tantrum over what has been brought into law today.”

x A post shared by Jaelene Hinkle (@jaelenehinkle) on Jun 26, 2015 at 2:04pm PDT

After her withdrawal from the June 2017 roster, Hinkle was never called up again, and avoided the issue—until now. On Wednesday, The 700 Club, that bastion of hard-hitting news on the Christian Broadcast Network, published an exclusive interview; despite being filmed last June, the video was not released until now, just days before 2018’s Pride Month celebrations begin.

In the clip, Hinkle dives deep into her faith, her soccer career, and her medical struggles, one of which she claims was cured through prayer. At the very end, she addresses her “personal reasons” for skipping her call-up.

x YouTube Video

“I just felt so convicted in my spirit, that it was not my job to wear this jersey. And I gave myself 3 days to just seek and pray and determine what He was asking me to do in this situation.



I’m essentially giving up the one dream little girls dream about their entire life, and I’m saying no to it. It was very disappointing.



I think that’s where the peace trumps the disappointment, because I knew in my spirit that I was doing the right thing. I knew I was being obedient, and like, just because you’re obedient doesn’t make it easy.



If I never get a national team call-up again, like, that is just part of his plan, that’s okay. And maybe this is why you were meant to play soccer: like, just to show other believers to be obedient.”

Unfortunately for Hinkle, her “obedience” is being interpreted a little differently by the soccer and LGBTQ communities, which overlap significantly. In the wake of the video’s release, Hinkle was in Oregon with her team, the North Carolina Courage, as they played the Portland Thorns. Hinkle encountered boos, fans waved their rainbow flags, and some members of the Thorns fanbase even found the time to make protest signs.

x A "PERSONAL REASONS" in rainbow letters two-pole in Portland at tonight's Thorns FC/NC Courage match. Referencing Jaelene Hinkle declining a USWNT call-up last summer because of the jerseys the team wore in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month. pic.twitter.com/UpZTJq3f3b Ã¢ÂÂ Jacob Cristobal (@jacobcristobal) May 31, 2018

Her coach and at least one teammate, however, are standing by her, saying Hinkle’s intolerance for the LGBTQ community “doesn’t affect the team,” which has the best record in the league right now.