By L.A. Williams
Christian Action League
August 3, 2022
Jaelene Daniels, a defender for the North Carolina Courage, showed her own brand of bravery July 29 by refusing to don a Pride night jersey, even when the decision meant she would not play.
“Jaelene will not be rostered tonight as she has made the decision to not wear our Pride jersey,” a spokesman for the Cary-based professional women’s soccer team told the media before the game against the Washington Spirit. “While we’re disappointed with her choice, we respect her right to make that decision for herself.”
Respect was not the response Daniels received from many during the team’s Pride Night at WakeMed Soccer Park, where some fans accused her of not supporting her teammates.
“This is a clear example of her not being tolerant and yet we have LGBTQ+ players that have to be on this team with her day in and day out,” said fan Victoria Vayer, whose lament was reported by ABC News.
USA Today’s Pro Soccer Wire accused Daniels of “actively harming her team’s business outlook and locker-room chemistry.”
This was not the first time Daniels took a stand for God’s word with regard to events promoting the LGBTQ agenda. In 2017, her decision not to wear a rainbow-themed jersey kept her from playing for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team.
“I just felt so convicted in my spirit that it wasn’t my job to wear this jersey,” she said in an interview the following year. “I gave myself three days to just seek and pray and determine what He was asking me to do in this situation… I knew in my spirit I was doing the right thing. I knew I was being obedient.”
Daniels has not responded publicly to the most recent criticisms against her, but did release a statement late last year when the Courage re-signed her after she had taken a break from soccer to become a mom. At that time, she said, “I remain committed to my faith and my desire for people to know that my love for them isn’t based on their belief system or sexuality. I pray and firmly believe that my teammates know how much I cherish them, respect them, and love them.”
Sharing her faith on her social media accounts, Daniels has posted “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.”
The Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League, said Christians who remain strong in their belief that sex outside of a heterosexual marriage is sinful behavior should expect more marginalization and public censure.
“In our society, there is nothing considered more worthy of condemnation than discrimination, but if Christians would be faithful to God, they must discriminate,” he said. “God discriminates. He doesn’t discriminate against the immutable characteristics by which he made us. Skin color, for instance, is benign. Sexual behavior is not. There is no gene to explain LGBTQ sexual desires. If this were the case, we would expect to see it in identical twins, but it’s not there. Still, if scientists were to find something like this one day, would it justify the behavior? All of us have desires on which we shouldn’t act. It’s called sin. Some people may have a genetic disposition to alcoholism, but who would argue for following after these desires? What if someone has a genetic attraction to have sex with children? Does that justify acting on it?”
The Rev. Creech pointed out the coming “discrimination” of God’s final judgment.
“Let me say this kindly but solemnly. Do you remember the words of Jesus in the New Testament when he spoke about the day of judgment when the wheat will be separated from the chaff? It happens at the end of the age, when God discriminates between the just and the unjust, when he gathers his wheat into his barn and burns the chaff with unquenchable fire. It is a very discriminating judgment,” he said.
“Jesus said that on that day, the first would be last, and the last would be first. If you ask me, Jaelene Daniels is in a good position to win with God.”
