Olympic gold medalist Croix Bethune throws first pitch at national match, suffers season-ending injury

Croix Bethune, a professional soccer player for the Washington Spirit and a member of the United States women’s national soccer team, suffered a season-ending knee injury after throwing out the first pitch during a Washington Nationals baseball game.

It is the worst injury an athlete can sustain: an injury sustained outside of competition.

The incident occurred last week, just before a game between the Nationals and the New York Yankees.

Major League Baseball honored Bethune and three of her teammates who returned to Washington, D.C. after winning gold for the U.S. as part of the women’s soccer team at the Summer Olympics.

Video of the pitch doesn’t show much that would indicate a serious injury coming off the mound. Bethune can be seen kicking her head back and laughing, perhaps because the pitch went very, very wide.

@highlighther Croix threw that ball so hard homie went out of frame 😂😂 @brwalkoff (via @Washington Spirit) #soccer #baseball #first #pitch #throw #fypage ♬ original sound – HighlightHER

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Croix Bethune is out for the season

While it looked innocent, Croix Bethune’s first throw was anything but. The Spirit announced that she “tore her meniscus in practice,” a season-ending injury for the midfielder.

Spirit coach Jonatan Giráldez broke the bad news on Wednesday after Bethune did not travel with the team to a game against the San Diego Wave.

“She had a problem making the first pitch during the baseball game the other day,” Giráldez told reporters, according to Pro Soccer Wire.

“We will report exactly what she has, but she will not be available this season. It’s bad, bad news, but at the end of the day it’s part of life. We have to move on.”

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What a horrible way to end the season

It’s one thing to get injured during a match on the field, but it’s devastating to get injured during a relatively mundane event.

Especially when it comes to paying tribute to your efforts during the Olympic Games.

Croix Bethune had an impressive debut season in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), even tying the record for assists for a rookie.

She was the third overall pick in the NWSL draft and had five goals and 10 assists in 17 games. Bethune had just earned Rookie of the Month honors in August for her performance. It was her fourth such honor.

The team’s cautious approach to treating the meniscus injury is understandable, as Bethune tore her anterior cruciate ligament three times during her high school and college years.