Why isn't Erin Matson, the Michael Jordan of U.S. field hockey, playing in the Olympics?

It is easy to argue that Erin Matson is the greatest collegiate field hockey player that the U.S. has ever produced.

Consider that Matson was named ACC Player of the Year in each of her five seasons at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. And in four of those five seasons, she led the Tar Heels to winning the national championship. She also won the Honda Sports Award for field hockey three times, which recognized her as the nation’s top player.

She is also third all-time in points and third all-time in career goals in NCAA Division I field hockey history.

Matson is one of just two players ever to be named to the U.S. national field hockey team at the age of 16. Before her decorated career at UNC even began, she helped the Americans win the bronze medal at the 2017 Pan American Cup, and then led them to another bronze in the 2019 Pan American Games.

All of this is to say, it isn’t hard to make the case that Matson is the GOAT of field hockey. She is the Michael Jordan of her sport, even if you ignore the shared Carolina Blue between the two.

Just GOAT things #GoHeels x #GDTBATH
MJ photo credit: Andrew Bernstein/1996 pic.twitter.com/vZQ0XNNtbY

— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) November 20, 2022

So, it’s sort of strange that she isn’t on the women’s field hockey team that the Americans are taking to the Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Matson’s collegiate career ended less than two years ago. Why isn’t she a member of this squad?

Apparently, according to a statement released by Matson, USA Field Hockey denied her a tryout in February.

“My request wasn’t to be an Olympian. My request was to allow me to try out. USA Field Hockey chose not to grant me that opportunity.”

USA Field Hockey, in a statement to the Washington Post, said it invited Matson to try out in early 2023, “but turned down the opportunity, which established the main pool of candidates for potential selection.” The statement continued: “As a result, Erin did not qualify under the mandatory terms of the selection criteria that all athletes had to follow for possible inclusion on the team.”

Matson was probably a bit too busy to try out in early 2023, considering she would’ve been preparing for her first season as the Tar Heels head coach following the retirement of Karen Shelton. And Matson, to the surprise of no one, led UNC to a national championship in her rookie campaign on the sidelines at the age of 23.

When the season was over, Matson turned her focus to her Olympic aspirations, even competing in the Indoor Pan American Cup to prepare for a tryout with Team USA.

A whole lot of people thought it was pretty absurd that Matson was denied the chance to tryout. Even the UNC Board of Trustees issued a statement:

“Why is US Field Hockey denying the greatest American player in history a chance to compete for a spot on the Olympic team? Erin meets all the criteria and is willing, able and ready to be in Charlotte on Sunday with the full support of her colleagues and team at Carolina.”

She also had the backing of UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham, who told the Raleigh News & Observer:

“She came back to me and asked what I thought. I said, ‘You’re only 23, 24 once. If you want to play, we’ll figure it out.’ We had a plan and figured out how she could do it. But she had to be selected and she wasn’t selected.”

And coaches have competed in the Olympics before. Matson’s predecessor, Shelton, played in the 1984 Olympics while coaching UNC. But, USA Field Hockey stuck to its guns, and Matson had to grapple with the disappointment.

She told the Philadelphia Inquirer:

“I am living my dream here at Carolina. The Olympics would be the only thing left to check off, but I wouldn’t be doing it to help my playing career. I’m very comfortable with what I’ve done, it would be to help our country.”

Matson will be 28 by the time the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles roll around. She might have a few more national titles to her name as a coach by then, but only USA Field Hockey will decide if she’ll be able to compete for an Olympic gold.