Claire Lauren Rafferty (b.1989) is an English pundit and retired professional footballer. She made over 100 appearances as a left back or left winger for Chelsea in the FA WSL and also spent time at Millwall Lionesses and West Ham United.
Claire Rafferty said “The big thing for me was: why do I get this and other people don’t? I wasn’t aware of how to manage it or what it really was. I did feel embarrassed. I didn’t want to say it, because I didn’t want it to be an excuse. I see it as a superpower. I’m coming from an environment where you don’t make excuses for anything. Football is unforgiving. I had to change that mindset. You have to learn to love yourself.
It’s something I was able to overcome by being kind to myself. You don’t need to look a certain way or be a certain way to be accepted. Just be who you are, and if people don’t like that then unfortunately they’re probably not meant to be in your life.”