Ashlyn Harris, a two-time World Cup champion and Olympian, attributes the bonafide success she’s achieved in her sports career to her queer identity.
“My queerness probably is what made me so great,” Harris, 39, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, April 30, at the Global Citizen Now Summit. “I was so bold, I lived out loud and I wasn’t ashamed of it.”
The former USWNT goalkeeper, who now serves as a board member of the Human Rights Campaign, called out sports fans who spew hate towards LGBTQ+ athletes comfortable in their own skin as “envious” because “they wish they could do the same.”
“I think hate in our community is totally based on the freedom we express every single day,” Harris said. “People feel uncomfortable that we can walk into rooms and be as colorful and exactly who we are to live our truth more than any community out there. That threatens people a lot.”
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Harris spoke on a panel at this year’s Global Citizen summit called “Beyond the Game: How Sports Fuel Leadership & Learning” alongside sports commentator Katie Nolan and Delta CMO Alicia Tillman. While discussing the rising generation of female athletes that inspire them, Harris praised Olympic gymnast Simone Biles for standing up for mental health, saying she respects athletes who use their platform to back a cause.
For Harris, that cause is fighting for equal pay in women’s sports. She pointed to a viral Boardroom post on Instagram that highlighted the stark pay disparity between WNBA and NBA rookies. The report said Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, signed a four-year contract worth $348,000, starting at $78,831 in her first season.
“Now compare that to the first overall pick in the NBA Draft,” Harris told Us. “A kid that’s probably great, I just don’t know who he is. Don’t know his name. Most people don’t. Everyone knows who Paige Bueckers is. He will make, in one single game, pretty close to $200,000 — which is double than what she’ll make in an entire season.”
Pointing to the rise in popularity of women’s sports, Harris said now that these games are getting the “TV ratings” and “sold-out stadiums,” it’s time “the money goes into the pockets of the players.”
“I want these women to be rich — and I don’t feel bad saying that,” Harris said. “They’re investing the same amount of time, passion, grit, sweat. They’re sacrificing everything for their craft. They should be paid.”
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Outside of promoting gender equality, Global Citizen also advocates for issues like ending extreme poverty and improving access to education. At this year’s summit, the organization announced the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund: a new initiative aiming to raise $100 million by the 2026 World Cup Final to give kids around the world access to both classrooms and soccer fields.
“We couldn’t be more excited about this,” Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans told Us. “It harnesses the power of sport and entertainment to change the world forever.”
