“Next Goal Wins” and the Lie of the Transgender Hero

I thought about writing up a nice intro to kick this post off saying something about how this fun movie just popped up on Hulu. I’d try saying something funny or clever about soccer and share a personal story or two. Like the time I was a goalie and went to kick the ball as it bounced towards me. I whiffed and the ball rolled into the goal. I haven’t been a goalie since. Or this other goalie I happened to get a picture of during one of my niece’s soccer games. Side note: this isn’t my niece.

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But I rather just get right into what’s really annoying about Next Goal Wins. What is it with America’s obsession over trans people? In the movie there’s a transgender athlete and, once she’s introduced to the audience, she’s in almost every scene. On top of that, she becomes the hero of the story. That would be fine if the movie weren’t based on a true story… a true story where the trans athlete (Jaiyah Saelua) barely plays in any game. It’s definitely a sign of the times that the trans woman was the hero of the fictional story when, as history shows it, she was barely part of the story at all. She said this:

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American Samoa. This movie also whiffed in its portrayal of the Samoan people. It made them look more like the cast of “The Three Stooges” than a heritage full of deep faith, strength, and resilience. This comment on YouTube sums it up well.

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Artistic License. It’s common for movies to embellish stories for the sake of entertainment. But are there any transgender people embarrassed that their sexuality is often used as entertainment? Why did Next Goal Wins use Jaiyah’s gender to embellish the story instead of, say, the coach’s relationship with his wife? In the movie, they are separated and headed towards divorce. The movie could’ve shown them as a couple madly in love after decades of marriage, a testament to true commitment. Instead they show the coach as an angry white man…

Guy 1: There’s something not right about this guy.

Guy 2: Well, he IS white.

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Nevermind the fact that there are white people who know a thing or two about soccer *ahem* the Australians who beat them 31-0 just a few years prior. Not to mention, the white savior trope the movie tries to dispel is itself dispelled when the team scores and wins a game thanks to….. their white coach! Oopsy.

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To cast the coach and his wife as a healthy couple is boring. I get it. Anything transgender is infinitely more entertaining and culturally fashionable, sure to cause a stir. A middle aged white couple with a happy marriage doesn’t really make a good comedy, I guess. So Next Goal Wins parades the transgender woman around like a circus freak under the guise of heroism (or should it be called sheroism?), which is pretty far from the truth.

All that said, early in the movie there’s a scene of the coach getting fired which sets him up for the job in American Samoa. It’s the funniest scene in the movie and I love the use of props (overhead projector) and comedic timing. If it weren’t for the transgender thing being shoved in our faces the entire time, I’d watch the movie again. If you can overlook that and you want a comedy, you’ll enjoy Next Goal Wins. If you’re looking to be inspired to win your next pickleball championship, look elsewhere.

-Out of the Wilderness