Athletes. Trailblazers. Activists. This is our story. And this is also my story.
I have been on the USWNT for over a decade. And the very first call up I received, I didn’t know it yet, but I was handed a torch. And, I was given the responsibility to carry that torch as far and as high as I possibly could for the sake of women’s equality. Because that’s what it means to play on the USWNT.
My torch burned brightly as I cried, fought, and sued for equal pay, shoulder to shoulder with my teammates. We were repeatedly told our value was less than the men’s, and we repeatedly responded that if the revenue wasn’t the same, it was because the investment was grossly less. So, we fought. We fought hard. And yes, along the way, we won a lot of battles, including a historic settlement and commitment to equal pay for the men’s and women’s U.S. national teams. Our torch, burning like a beacon, illuminated the path to progress.
But that was only the beginning. The fight for equity is bigger than the confines of a single team or even a football pitch. It is as vast and far-reaching as a sky full of stars.
The USWNT handed me a torch and taught me the power of carrying it. It’s a torch I carry today and will continue to carry as long as I play before passing it down to the next gen. Over a decade ago, I wrote in my blog, “I got my first call-up to the USWNT. Before I could exhale in relief – I had made it – I realized this was just the beginning. The USWNT isn’t a place where you celebrate, put down roots, or relax. It isn’t a place at all.”
From the embers of our equal pay lawsuit came the catching of a new fire, the birth of a new movement toward reimagination – our company, RE–INC.
In this company, this community, I see more than a single torch. I see a hundred torches. A thousand. With the potential for millions. I see change catch on like wildfire, flamed by a shared passion for equity and progress.
RE–INC is my home, now and forever. We are an infinite flame, lighting and reigniting the torches we hold up on our march toward equity. We are an ever-expanding constellation, with more stars joining every day. We continue to build the foundation for a new kind of constellation – a constellation of change.
Our stars are forever aimed to illuminate, disrupt, and reimagine a new frontier. And as this summer’s World Cup kicks off, we are shining a spotlight on women’s sports like never before. And we’ll never take it off.
This is the inspiration behind our World Cup collection, Written in the Stars. It is a collection of celebrations. Of stars, constellations, and galaxies. Of the belief that when we dare to dream together, we make the impossible possible. It is a call to action. To carry our torches. To relentlessly pursue better for ourselves, for our community, for our world. To play our part, shining alongside many others in the night sky.
My story started as an athlete, holding a torch. My story continues as an athlete, trailblazer, and activist, creating a constellation of change.
Always uniting. Always inspiring. Always reimagining.