From player to broadcaster, meet the queer Black soccer pro breaking down the Washington Spirit
The Washington Spirit's first-ever radio broadcast will be anchored by a Black queer woman.
The Washington, D.C. women's soccer team has announced that former player Gaby Vincent will host the team's first-ever radio broadcast, which aims to make the game as accessible as possible to fans. Vincent, who played for the Washington Spirit from 2021 to 2022, described the position as a personal "full circle moment."
"I grew up in Maryland, grew up in this area. The Spirit is the team I grew up watching and dreaming of playing for," she told The Advocate. "So, to be able to come back and play for the team is already kind of like a dream come true. ... And now I feel like I get to contribute to the sport and to the team in a different way."
While Vincent said she "had never really thought that I wanted to explore broadcasting career," she was inspired by the idea that she could bring "representation that you don't often get to see in that side of sports."
"You don't often see many Black, queer women calling sports games and getting to have that platform to talk about sports in a professional way," she explained. "I'm really honored to get this opportunity."
Vincent said that she has a "hyper focus on the queer players" and "hyper focus on the black players" in the game "because I see myself in them." She believes this is a strength of hers as a commentator, as it opens up audiences to new information, while allowing viewers to relate to her.
Photo by Amy Kontras/ISI Photos/Getty Images
"You never know who's gonna be listening a game," she said, continuing, "Somebody listening to me might see themselves in me, and then be inspired to get involved in sports in a different way that they never imagined before."
That's also the reason the radio broadcast format is so important in itself, as Vincent explained fans "might not have access to a TV or a laptop or a phone to be able to tune into a game." Those who are visually impaired or who have other disabilities "might not be able to visually watch the game" at all.
"I think the Spirit is doing a great job by constantly improving how they're making their games accessible to everybody," Vincent said, adding, "Everyone deserves to experience sports in their own way that works for them. The more platforms that you're able to access spirit games on, the better. ... The more people that can experience it, the more people that can be a part of it, the better."
Away from the game, Vincent has spent the past year working for the D.C. Mayor's Office of LGBTQ Affairs. She has even "gotten to work with the Spirit and other sports teams on their Pride games" since being hired.
"I love that I can still have that crossover between the sports world, because it really is a really good platform for advocating for social issues," she said.
Between both her hosting gig and position at the Mayor's Office, Vincent is excited to continue combining her love of sports with passion for advocacy. She revealed that her favorite part of the job is "just making connections and seeing what the support means to people in the community."
"The big events that have thousands of people are great, but for me, it's really that one to one connection where it's like you know I see you. You know that I'm here. This is a safe space," she said. "And at the very least, this person now knows that there's a team of us who are working every day to make life for LGBTQ people in D.C. better."
