March Madness took an unwelcome turn this week when USC Trojans women’s basketball star, Juju Watkins, will miss the remainder of her season due to an ACL tear suffered against Mississippi State on Monday during her second-round game – prompting widespread outpourings of sympathy and support, even from soccer superstar Alex Morgan himself!
Watkins was injured within five minutes of entering USC’s game at Galen Center and needed assistance leaving. Her injury left an impactful mark; as Kiki Iriafen scored 36 points despite Watkins’ absence to lead USC through to Sweet Sixteen play despite its victory being marred by Watkins’ seriousness of injury.
Alex Morgan has shown her support for Watkins during this trying time through Togethxr, her media and commerce company co-founded with Morgan. They shared an Instagram post from Togethxr containing prayers from various sports figures; additionally Morgan shared her hopes that Watkins recover quickly on her story with prayer emojis attached.
Sports fans and community leaders continue to rally behind Watkins as she faces her recovery journey with strength, hope and support from within their respective disciplines and beyond. This incident highlights the strong bonds found within sports as a whole that transcend individual disciplines and become manifest through acts such as solidarity.