PORTLAND – Growing up, Crystal Dunn would look around at all the other girls playing soccer and wonder if she belonged.
In a sport that is still overwhelmingly white in the United States, there was no one who looked like Dunn. No one encouraging her to become more technical rather than making stereotypical assumptions about her speed and athleticism.
“Black women, especially, us existing in spaces that were not necessarily created for them” is not easy, Dunn said. “I do think women as a whole, we are a little bit reserved in regards to boasting and sharing our accolades and talking about it in the media.