Body Shaming in Soccer: What We Can Learn From Lindsay Horan’s PSG Experience

May 13, 2021
By Kayleigh Toney

Recently, Lindsey Horan opened up about her experience with body shaming in soccer. She spoke about it on Butterfly Road, a podcast hosted by her good friend and North Carolina Courage player, Cari Roccaro, and her co-host Ginny McGowan.

When Horan was just 18, she skipped college and turned professional right away, signing with Paris St. Germain in France. On top of being a young kid in a new country, not knowing the language, and being away from her family, her coaches relentlessly body-shamed her.

Her coaches at PSG continuously bullied and gave her a hard time about her weight. In one instance, her assistant coach smacked a snack out of her hand and told her no while grabbing her waist.

In another example she gave, if anyone had chocolate, they were fined, if she had chocolate, she was fined double, and if the girls had it around her, they were fined.

The situation that Horan was in is unacceptable and should have never happened. We can learn from it and work hard to make sure that nobody else has to go through a situation like this.

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What Is Body Shaming?

Body shaming is the action of expressing humiliation about another individual’s body or size.

Body shaming in soccer is more common than we would probably care to admit. Perhaps Lindsey’s sharing of her experience will help shed light on the issue. Whether it’s external pressure or pressure you put on yourself due to society’s skewed beauty ideals, if you begin having a negative body image or comparing yourself to others, it might be time to speak up, seek help, or try to change your perspective.

Never Let Someone Else Ruin the Sport for You

Lindsey Horan was in a situation where she was treated so badly that she wanted to quit the game. On the podcast, she said, “In France, that was the number one time I felt I wanted to quit soccer. There was just so much wrong being done that I lost love for the game.”

Never let someone ruin your love for the game; nobody should be able to take that away from you. Horan was, fortunately, able to regain her love for the game and become the player we see in the NWSL and with the USWNT today.

Know Your body

During the podcast, she also mentions that she knew she wasn’t healthy. She was losing weight and was down to only about 14% body fat which isn’t healthy for anyone. Horan heard from the coaching staff that she was doing great, but she knew that something was wrong.

Nobody knows your body more than yourself. It can be difficult to listen to yourself and your body when you are being told otherwise but listening to your body is so important. Don’t let someone else tell you what you should and shouldn’t look like.

Your Body Is Unique and Beautiful

Nobody in the world is the same. Everybody’s body is different and beautiful in its own way. As long as you feel healthy and you’re happy, then other’s opinions don’t matter.

Featured Image via Omar Vega/Getty Images