(Photo: Francois Nel/Getty Images)
DeKalb, IL — As one of two Black soccer players on the U.S. women’s national soccer team, Crystal Dunn said she feels unappreciated.
Dunn, who is ranked as the sixth-best soccer player in the world, told The Undefeated that she doesn’t get the recognition she deserves on or off the field.
“I feel like someone has dimmed my light in a sense,” the 29-year-old told The Undefeated.
The New York native is a two-time Olympian and will play in the Tokyo Olympic Games. After seeing other teammates on the cover of “Sports Illustrated” and being given awards, Dunn believes being a dark-skinned African American woman has stopped her from gaining the spotlight and from being treated like her white teammates.
“Whenever there was a photo shoot, it was always a struggle for me to feel comfortable speaking to someone who’s doing my hair and makeup, which is something a lot of my teammates don’t understand,” Dunn told The Undefeated.
She would like to see a shift in the whole idea that soccer is predominantly white.
"I have earned the right to be posterized and be a part of huge campaigns and lead the way for women’s soccer and not feel like I am just a player,” Dunn told Forbes.