multiple times now I've seen people genuinely claim that the solution to aphobia is for asexual and aromantic people to stop talking about their asexuality and aromanticism. if you think like this you need to be put in a meat grinder like actually

I just wanted to add my opinion on the tweets that are going around (from Sonnett and other players). I agree that people should be given the opportunity to grow, but people are also allowed to be upset at the things she said. Even if she has changed, reading the d slur and f slur still hurts, and from what I’ve read poc feel the same way about the racist stuff that was tweeted. Turning it into a ‘Stan war’ or whatever only discounts the feelings of people the tweets were offensive to

Oh I'm so glad you said this! And I wanna make something really clear here: (if this comes out as preachy or something please let me know, that's not my intention)

I have absolutely no problem with putting actively problematic players in the sin bin. I've been a soccer fan for 22 years dude, I've had my fare share of disappointments and heartbreaks when it comes to people who are excellent players but garbage human beings. No amount of love for any player will keep me from reconsidering my choices and dropping them they prove to be racist, homophobic, sexist, antisimetic, transphobic, or all other things that are so beyond comprehension. I have no time for it in my life and I sure as shit have no time for it in my favorite sport. If it comes out that Sonnett, or Miedema, or Roord, or literally ANY of these players getting dragged are STILL not just misguided but actively problematic I'm more than happy to join in on dropping them like hot potatoes.

FURTHERMORE I'm sorry if anything I've said has made anyone feel like your thoughts and feelings about any of what's happening are invalid, or not worth of expressing just because these people are famous. Let me make it clear: EVERYTHING THATS COMING TO LIGHT IS DISGUSTING, INEXCUSABLE, AND WHATEVER BETREYAL OR PAIN YOU FEEL IS VALID. The experiences of black people in this country and their feelings about white people (white women in this case) getting a pass for every excuse under the sun is VALID and TRUE. Plenty of absolutely garbage people get away with anything and everything because their skin is white. Plenty of people get away with inexcusable language because "they were kids" and it's also disgusting. Particularly when they've showed they haven't tried to change their mindset, gain a different perspective, and make amends for their mistakes without basically grandstanding and demanding to be seen as great for not being pieces of shit.

I can't pretend to understand the outrage but I can sympathize as much as possible. I apologize if anything I've said made anyone feel like you were anything but justified.

I'm not defending someone like Sonnett because, let's be real, what she said is indefensible. I'm not saying we need to be careful about how we treat her because I like her as a player. I'm definitely not saying her job as someone who needs to grow as a person is done. I'm not saying she should get a gold star for "trying". This isn't about stanning, at least for me.

What I am saying is that it's not a coincidence that after weeks of trash talking her on Twitter suddenly this appears. That I don't think this came from a place of genuine outrage for what she said. This came from a malicious and frankly disgusting group of people who've been looking for any excuse to put her down for weeks. But the people who this is hurting? The black and POC people who are now realizing someone they looked up to talked that way at some point? THOSE people are the ones I'm speaking to when I say I'm sorry this is happening, and that everything they feel, all the outrage they're expressing, is valid. What I'm saying is that though her words and actions were hurtful and disgusting and inexcusable, I highly doubt she's proud of them or she would say them now, as a 26yr old who knows the shit going on in the world and who isn't the same person she was back then. I say this as someone who's made so many similar mistakes, I don't deserve to be excused for what I did either, but I think that she deserves her recent actions to be examinated in the context of who she is now.

If she were still the same piece of shit with a platform now, I'd be joining you in pitchfork land. If it turns out that she's still the same person who wrote those tweets, I'll be sure to join the sensible people in dropping her, because she would deserve it then.

But what's happening to her right now? I don't think it's fair.

I'm not asking black, POC and LGBT people to forgive what was said, even if she apologizes. What I'm asking is for people to realize that none of us are the same people we were 8/9/10 years ago, and if we grew then maybe so did she. And that's something that we can work with.