Croix Bethune out for season after tossing MLB first pitch

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What the Washington Spirit initially called a “very cool moment” turned out to not be very cool at all.

The NWSL team will now be without star midfielder Croix Bethune after a mishap during a first pitch at an MLB game last week.

The 23-year-old Bethune and three of her Spirit teammates who won Olympic gold with the U.S. at the Summer Games in Paris were honoured before the Aug. 28 game between the host Washington Nationals and New York Yankees.

Bethune was chosen to throw the honorary pitch as teammates Trinity Rodman, Casey Krueger and Hal Hershfelt watched.

The soccer star strolled to the mound and delivered a wild throw towards the plate, then afterwards appeared to grimace slightly as she walked off the mound.

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On Thursday, the Spirit announced that Bethune suffered a torn meniscus in her knee “away from training” and will miss the remainder of the NWSL season.

She does not require surgery, but the length of time to rehab the injury is too long for a potential comeback.

After Bethune did not travel to California for the team’s 1-1 draw against the San Diego Wave, Spirit coach Jonatan Giráldez addressed the rookie’s status.

“She had a problem making the first pitch in the baseball game,” Giráldez said. “She is not going to be available this season. It is part of life. You have to keep going.”

Fans of the team were not happy on social media.

“How the heck does one blow out their meniscus throwing out the first pitch?!” one user on X replied.

“Insane that she tore her meniscus doing this. Why would she go off the rubber?” another wrote. “It’s an extremely violent overhand motion that isn’t on a flat service. Unless she played little league back in the day, I don’t get it.”

Bethune was the third-overall pick in this year’s NWSL draft and had scored five goals with 10 assists in 17 games this season.

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