United States Women’s National Team and Chicago Red Stars Forward Christen Press met the media ahead of this weekend’s friendly between the USWNT and South Africa. During the mixed zone media session, Press was asked about a myriad of topics that transcended sports including: Sydney Leroux’s recent blog post about race, security concerns at the upcoming Rio Olympics, the threat of the Zika virus and much much more.
Yes, indeed those who still like to wave the “stick to sports” flag these days just do not get it. Sports do not exist in a vacuum, independent of political and sociopolitical issues.
(Of course, any discussion that’s truly compelling doesn’t adhere to the outdated “stick to sports” paradigm anyway, but that’s another story for another time)
That point is further driven home in Olympic years when nationalism and jingoism are ramped up. Then you must consider this specific Olympics, when Rio has proven itself extremely ill equipped to handle basic national security and public health concerns that accompany hosting a summer olympiad.
Be sure to have a listen at what one teammate of Christen Press, Hope Solo, had to say about these issues at this link.
Transcribed below are a couple soundbites from Press’s pre-match interview, one about Zika, the other about Leroux’s blog post. Scroll down for the audio file. We also have the audio file of Press’ post-match interview, which covers more on-the-pitch topics, such as Carli Lloyd, Saturday’s performance, her training camp goals and much much more. (here’s the link to the Carli Lloyd audio, quotes)
The post match interview audio file is posted directly beneath the pre-match interview audio file.
Christen Press on Zika concerns. #USWNT pic.twitter.com/qVdGKbM88J
— John D. Halloran (@JohnDHalloran) July 8, 2016
Christen Press on Sydney Leroux's recent blog post. #USWNT pic.twitter.com/uahs6ziXQW
— John D. Halloran (@JohnDHalloran) July 8, 2016
Here’s the full Christen Press audio file below: (You might also want to check out the link to Press’ appearance in the ESPN Body Issue)
Press on Carli Lloyd: “It’s great to have Carli back. She’s always the driving force of this team.”
https://soundcloud.com/p-m-banks/uswnt-f-christen-press-talks-rio-olympics-zika-security-race-sydney-leroux-and-more
https://soundcloud.com/p-m-banks/uswnt-crs07-christen-press-talks-carli-lloyd-us-soccer
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram