The world has more queer soccer moms! Soccer (football) superstars Sam Kerr and Kristie Mewis announced the birth of their first child today.
Kerr posted the news on Instagram, saying, “Our little man is here, Jagger Mewis-Kerr,” and sharing a photo of the three of them. The moms look happy but tired, although as professional athletes, I’m sure they’ll bring their endurance to bear.
Kerr is widely considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time. She is captain of the Australian Women’s National Team and plays for Chelsea in the U.K. Women’s Super League. She formerly played for Perth Glory in the Australian W-League and the Chicago Red Stars (among others) in the U.S. National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Her many honors include being the NWSL’s MVP in 2019 and winning three consecutive Golden Boots for top scorer. She’s currently healing from an ACL injury, but has not given any indication that she’s leaving the game.
Mewis, a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, also plays for West Ham United in the Women’s Super League and formerly played for the NWSL, most recently for Gotham FC.
The women join other queer soccer mom couples where both people are playing at (or retired from) the top of the sport, including:
- Katrina Gorry, who had her first child as a solo parent in 2021, then welcomed a second last June with with fiancée Clara Markstedt, a Swedish professional soccer player.
- Tameka Yallop (Australia) and spouse Kirsty Yallop (New Zealand), who have one child and are expecting another in October.
- Ashlyn Harris (U.S.) and former spouse Ali Krieger (U.S.), who adopted two children together, although they are now divorced.
- Katie Duncan (New Zealand) and Priscilla Duncan (New Zealand), who have two children.
- Casey Stoney (from the U.K., but currently head coach of the Canadian Women’s National Team) and Megan Harris (U.K.), who have three children.
I’ll end with a quote from Abby Wambach, two-time Olympic soccer gold medalist and FIFA World Player of the Year (2012), who is raising three children with her spouse, author Glennon Doyle. In 2018, Wambach gave the commencement speech at Barnard College and observed, among other things, “The fiercest leading I’ve ever seen has been done between mother and child. Parenting is no bench. It just might be the big game.”
Welcome to the big game, Sam and Kristie!