{"id":855306,"date":"2025-06-13T17:11:48","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T22:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/13\/angel-citys-sydney-leroux-makes-difficult-confession-after-stepping-away-from-soccer\/"},"modified":"2025-06-13T17:11:48","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T22:11:48","slug":"angel-citys-sydney-leroux-makes-difficult-confession-after-stepping-away-from-soccer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/13\/angel-citys-sydney-leroux-makes-difficult-confession-after-stepping-away-from-soccer\/","title":{"rendered":"Angel City\u2019s Sydney Leroux Makes Difficult Confession After Stepping Away From Soccer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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\u201cAfter a lot of reflection, I\u2019ve made the difficult decision to step away from soccer for my mental health.\u201d<\/span><\/em> A difficult yet honest announcement from Sydney Leroux about three months ago, as she chose to pause her soccer career for a while. It was a moment many could relate to\u2014when giving up feels like the only option. <\/span>Yet, while others might believe there must have been different ways to handle the situation, for Leroux, there was <\/span>simply<\/span> \u201cno other choice.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The confession came <\/span>during her recent guest appearance<\/span><\/a> on <\/span>Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird-hosted<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>A Touch More<\/em> Podcast<\/span>.<\/span> Alongside Sydney was <\/span>also<\/span> her fellow Angel City teammate Ali Riley, with whom she also co-hosts her <\/span>own<\/span> podcast show called BFFR<\/em> (Best Friends For Real).<\/span> \u201cI honestly think there was no other choice for me than to take a step back,\u201d<\/span><\/em> Leroux began. <\/span><\/p>\n

Well, after<\/span> hearing about everything she went through, even you might find yourself feeling more <\/span>for<\/span> her.<\/span> The Canadian-born American star recalled that preseason was <\/span>\u201csuper crazy,\u201d\u2014<\/span><\/em>she got into a really bad<\/span> accident, and her kids fell sick. Things were a \u201c<\/span>mess<\/span><\/em>\u201c, and she <\/span>just<\/span> couldn\u2019t \u201ccatch up with anything.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Forget being able to play soccer, Sydney Leroux insisted that she <\/span>struggled with making a 5-yard pass. Things came to a point where she lost her <\/span>own<\/span> self, not to mention that having kids in the offseason isn\u2019t a break at all. So it eventually compelled her to take the crucial call. <\/span>\u201cI was able to take a step back and honestly,\u00a0 loved it, <\/span>like<\/span> doesn\u2019t scare me anymore to retire because I\u2019m like, \u2018Wow, this is this is not so bad,’\u201d <\/span><\/em>she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Soccer<\/p>

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via Imago<\/p>\n

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Notably, following last <\/span>season\u2019s showing of<\/span> 25 appearances with seven goals and an assist, Leroux was expected to return in 2025 with even more goals an<\/span>d galo<\/span>r<\/span>e. But the veteran forward ende<\/span>d<\/span> up announcing her break just a day before ACFC was set to kick off its first game of the season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Leroux had confessed that she had begun to realize that retirement might be on the horizon during the 2023 season, which saw her come back from a long-term ankle injury. But this isn\u2019t how the veteran wanted her story to end. She wants to come back. <\/span>So, it\u2019s fair to say that taking a break might <\/span>just<\/span> be the very thing that helps her bounce back, stronger than ever.<\/span> \u201cIt was the best thing that I ever did for myself and <\/span>for<\/span> my little fam,\u201d <\/span><\/em>continued Leroux.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe just struggle through everything, and we\u2019re supposed to be strong through everything. And I feel like I\u2019ve always done that, and I couldn\u2019t be strong any longer and needed help,\u201d <\/span><\/em>added the former Vancouver Whitecaps star, while also thanking the NWSL and Angel City for being supportive of her decision.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sure, all of this came at the cost of missing out on some game time. <\/span>But<\/span> it eventually helped Leroux understand how <\/span>exactly she could<\/span> deal with things <\/span>in a better way<\/span> and navigate<\/span> her personal life <\/span>a lot<\/span> more easi<\/span>ly<\/span>.<\/span> While it seems a good call to do so, what if I <\/span>tell<\/span> you she was still forced to hear negative comments about it?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Soccer Sydney Leroux received unexpected backlash for prioritizing mental health<\/span><\/h2>\n

During such a tough time, one would expect some moral support, not just from loved ones, and teammates, but also from ardent fans. However, in a shocking incident, not everyone was on the same page. <\/span>For context, this incident dates <\/span>back<\/span> a couple of weeks, <\/span>whe<\/span>n a netizen suggested<\/span>\u00a0that Angel City FC should release the forward since she wasn\u2019t available to play.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Soccer<\/p>

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via Imago<\/p>\n

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The netizen wrote on X, <\/span>\u201cPlease release Sydney. No point wasting a roster spot on someone who will not play.\u201d <\/span><\/em>As if this wasn\u2019t dramatic enough, the X post <\/span>ended up getting<\/span> Leroux\u2019s attention, and boy did she respond<\/a> to her critic with a sarcastic comeback. Hilariously, she replied, <\/span>\u201cGod forbid a girl takes care of her wellbeing! ????\u201d<\/span><\/em> \u2014 a pointed reply highlighting how some still criticize athletes for prioritizing mental health.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Savage as always, but let\u2019s hope that Sydney Leroux makes her comeback on the pitch in a similar fashion.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Rebecka Geddes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer \u201cAfter a lot of reflection, I\u2019ve made the difficult decision to step away from soccer for my mental health.\u201d A difficult yet honest announcement from Sydney Leroux about three months ago, as she chose to pause her soccer career for a while. It was a moment many could relate to\u2014when giving up feels like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":855307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1451,36697,2005],"tags":[13126,13377],"class_list":{"0":"post-855306","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-angel","8":"category-citys","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-angel","11":"tag-citys"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=855306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/855307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=855306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=855306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=855306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}