By Lesley Ryder
The SheBelieves campaign arrived in the year of the #GirlBoss. It was the peak of millennial feminism. The White House celebrated Women’s Equality Day, Hillary Clinton called herself a feminist in an interview with Lena Dunham, and the United States Soccer Federation launched the SheBelieves campaign to inspire girls across the country ahead of the World Cup.
Millennials are never beating the cringe allegations.
The intentions of the SheBelieves movement are good–empowering women of all ages will always be important–but up against the backdrop of the hellscape that is 2025 so far, where empowered women’s rights are under attack, it’s worth asking: What does SheBelieve in today?
The SheBelieves Origin Story
While the name itself may be the butt of several jokes, at face value, the campaign comes from good intentions. In 2015, women’s sports were less visible than they are today. The WNBA aired a fraction of their games nationally. The NWHL streamed games on their own website. The NWSL was just 3 seasons old and only broadcast a handful of games to home viewers.
Stone Ward, the advertising agency that helped launch the campaign intentionally built the messaging around empowerment. “This campaign had a much bigger goal, motivating young girls to pursue their dreams,” their website reads. The design and look of the campaign’s graphics were intentionally inclusive, featuring “a rotation of players from different backgrounds, geographies, and ethnicities as a nod to the diversity of the team and the fanbase who find inspiration in them.”
U.S. Soccer described the campaign as a way to show the USWNT as an ideal—the peak of what could happen if SheBelieves enough.
As one of the most popular women’s teams in the United States, the WNT is the prime example that dreams are attainable if you set your mind to it and go after what you want.
The USWNT’s popularity has undoubtedly grown since the SheBelieves campaign began. They’ve won two World Cups, a Gold medal, and out-earned their male counterparts in revenue, while smashing viewership records along the way.
On-field achievements aside, this team has shown why they should inspire young women with their off-field actions. In 2019, they sued the US Soccer federation for equal pay ahead of the World Cup, and won a historic settlement after a lengthy legal battle. USWNT players have spoken out about their experiences with racism, and spoken up for LGBTQ rights.
Through dedication, teamwork, perseverance and success, the U.S. Women's National team inspires new generations of young girls and women to be better and strive for better. They inspire them to believe.
USWNT players have made quiet protests in past iterations of the SheBelieves Cup, writing “Protect Trans Kids” and “Protect Trans Joy” on wrist tape during their 2022 match in Texas, and 2023 opener in Orlando, Florida. After the 2022 match, Catarina Macario said the gesture was inspired by Megan Rapinoe “With the platform we have, we really wanted to show why this team is different and why we do things that are much bigger than just the game,” Macario said to The Athletic. “It was just a way to show awareness, especially because we were playing in Texas.”
SheBelieves… just not in these United States
The 2025 SheBelieves Cup concludes Wednesday night after playing in two states advancing multiple anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion bills through their house legislation, and with Korbin Albert on their roster who has been criticized in the past for making and sharing anti-LGBTQ posts on social media.
Albert apologized for her post, but fans and former players have been critical of the closed-door nature of her rehabilitation. Christen Press, 2019 World Cup Champion, expressed her disappointment on The RE-CAP Show. "The tweets, TikToks, Instagrams, those are external. So I think to a certain extent it needed to be handled publicly. And I also think that there's an opportunity to show how to handle this.”
Korbin Albert’s behavior can’t be dismissed at a time when anti-trans sports bills have passed in 25 states, gender-affirming healthcare is banned in 26 states, and care is being withheld across the country, even in blue states. The Trevor Project reported a 700% increase in volume across their crisis lines after the November election, and a study found that over the past year, anti-trans legislation “increased incidents of past-year suicide attempts among transgender and nonbinary youth by as much as 72%”.
shebelieves is a movement to encourage young women and girls to reach their dreams, athletic or otherwise.
For women and LGBTQ fans of all ages, their dreams include living their life fully, without fear of harm.
USWNT head coach Emma Hayes has separated herself from debate over Albert’s selection to the team, even as her announcement into matches has prompted booing on multiple continents. “Of course I understand the booing and everybody is entitled to their opinions on it, without a doubt. My job is not to weigh in on the debate. I'm a football coach to produce a football team.” Hayes said in an interview with ESPN after the USWNT’s 0-0 draw with England in November.
It’s time for a refresh
This apolitical shift by the USWNT is concerning in a sport where their very existence is political. Emma Hayes’ ambitious project “The WNT Way” aims to build the USWNT program through a female lens, going against the historical male-centric view of the sport as she lays out the blueprint for the next three years. It’s unprecedented for a women’s sports federation, and it’s political by nature.
This is not the time for the USWNT to step aside, and stay neutral. To do so would betray their history.
The USWNT has led the fight for equality, clashing with the USSF multiple times over pay disputes, and setting the battle blueprint for other teams and leagues to follow. The Canadian Women’s Soccer Team, The WNBA, and the US Women’s Hockey team all took inspiration from the USWNT’s fight for their own pay disputes.
Players on the USWNT have bargained for maternity leave, and support for mothers on the team. Mothers can now bring their children on the road, and have basic needs fulfilled, like having their own room].
While other leagues and teams have pulled back on Pride celebrations, the USWNT continues to sport rainbow-numbered jerseys, and raise money for the You Can Play project.
The SheBelieves movement has empowered women for 10 years, and has helped shape the USWNT. This iteration of the team is young, diverse, and does not exist without immigrants and the LGBTQ community. These traits endear the team to so many people, from all walks of life. But at a time where women’s rights and the LGBTQ community are being attacked and diversity is being framed as a weakness instead of a strength, young women and girls need more than just empowerment–they need support, and affirmation.
The empowerment of young women and girls is not an overnight objective but a permanent movement that can impact millions, because when girls and women succeed, we all succeed.