The last few days have seen an unprecedented outpouring of grief over the passing of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, as well as the seven others involved in last weekend’s helicopter crash. Kobe was beloved by athletes everywhere, and his respect and passion for women’s sports was deeply felt and appreciated. Below, we’ve gathered a few of the many tributes from athletes and coaches dedicated to the Mamba.

Now, championships come and go. There’s going to be another team that wins another championship, another player that wins another MVP award. But if you really want to create something that last generations, you have to help inspire the next generation... that’s when you create something forever. And that’s what’s most beautiful. — Kobe Bryant (1978-2020)

The last few days have been unlike any I can recall in my time as a sports fan. Like many, I’ve now spent hours staring at the internet in a state of shock, pouring over every highlight and tribute I can find, and I still find it hard to believe that Kobe Bryant is gone. Seeing “1978-2020” next to his name just doesn’t make any sense. I doubt it ever will.

To be honest, words seem painfully cheap at the moment. But as someone from Los Angeles who grew up cheering for Kobe and the Lakers, I feel compelled to try and articulate what he meant to my hometown, how he inspired LA, myself, and so many other fans and athletes around the world.

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CHRISTIAN PETERSEN / GETTY IMAGES

I was 3 years old when Kobe was drafted. For the next 20 years, I had the privilege of growing up in the audience of an athlete mastering his craft, night in and night out. I can still remember crowding around the TV with the rest of my family during his 81-point game. I remember watching him sink two free throws with a ruptured achilles as though it were only a blister. There were so many nights when I threw my homework aside to catch the 4th quarter of a game, knowing it was Mamba time. And I can’t tell you how many times I watched the replay of Kobe refusing to flinch when Matt Barnes pump-faked in his face.

Even in a sport full of larger-than-life personalities, and in a city overcrowded with celebrities, Kobe stood apart. His commitment to basketball was both incomparable and utterly infectious. It didn’t matter that I was a young girl playing soccer. He was still a role model, someone who taught me and many others that if you want to be great, there’s no such thing as doing too much.

As the tributes have begun to pour in over the last few days, it’s been astonishing to note the extent of Kobe’s influence. First there were the NBA games that followed on Sunday. For someone whose unapologetic competitiveness famously alienated so many of his teammates, Kobe was idolized by his peers in a way few athletes have ever been. He wasn’t just an inspiration, but a mentor to many, in and beyond the basketball world.

I’ve frankly never seen an athlete with a platform like Kobe’s give as much as he did to women’s sports. He cheered for the USWNT, he cheered for the WNBA, he cheered for women’s tennis, he cheered for women’s college basketball. And he didn’t just use his celebrity to bring these sports attention. He made real, lasting relationships with numerous female athletes, from Sabrina Ionescu to Naomi Osaka, Sydney Leroux to Elena Delle Donne. He built facilities where he invited them to train and learn from him. He coached his daughter’s basketball team. He believed in these athletes, and he made sure that they knew it. The outpouring of collective grief from the women’s sports world these last few days is entirely unprecedented. There’s no other athlete that meant this much to other athletes.

Kobe’s fanatic obsession with greatness slowly transformed into a drive to spread success as far as he could. Nowhere was this more evident than in his relationship with his daughter, Gianna. I’m gutted just thinking about the fact that they were on their way to play and coach together. My heart aches for the Bryant family and for every other family involved in the crash.

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ALLEN BEREZOVSKY / GETTY IMAGES

Gianna, or Gigi, was supposed to grow up, go to UConn, and carry the Bryant legacy into the WNBA. Only 13 years old, she already had the Mamba mentality. And of all of Kobe’s retirement endeavors, none, not even the Oscar, came close to matching the incredible joy he showed in coaching his daughter. It was beyond powerful to watch an all-time great, in real time, pass along his confidence, strength, and self-belief to his proclaimed Mambacita. The fact that the helicopter was on its way to a basketball game, and was carrying multiple players and their parents, only underlines the deep tragedy of the accident.

Inevitably, you can’t tell Kobe’s story without mentioning his rape accusation. Like so many, I find it nearly impossible to reconcile the Kobe of 2003 with the Kobe of 2020, father to four girls and mentor to countless female athletes. Being a fan of Kobe has always meant trying (and usually failing) to reconcile these seemingly disparate characters. In this matter, his death provides little to no clarity.

Ultimately, I think we have to be willing to hold complicated views of complicated people. No accomplishment on or off the court will make the details of Kobe’s case any less sickening. In the same vain, it’s impossible to stand witness to the endless stream of grief and tribute that’s engulfed the sports world over these last few days and not feel awed by the transformative impact one person can have on so many others.

Kobe’s death is a painful reminder of just how emotionally invested we are in sports — more so than most of us even understand. But our grief gives us away. And while on the surface it might seem almost silly to see so many grown adults, myself included, mourning the loss of an athlete we never personally knew, the reality is that we don’t need to meet our heroes for them to have an impact on our lives. We just need to see a glimmer of our own struggles embodied and magnified in theirs. We just need to be reminded as often as possible of the heights that human audacity can achieve.

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ELSA / GETTY IMAGES

And in the case of Kobe, his impact on our lives will continue through the profound influence he had on his fellow athletes, male and female, across all sports. More than the trophies, or the records, or his place on any “all-time” list, Kobe’s legacy will be defined by those athletes who continue to channel his spirit in their own pursuits of greatness.

Kobe first gained notoriety for his unapologetic obsession with being historically significant. But as he grew older, he clearly began to realize that it was his relationships rather than his records that would allow him to continue to change the game well after his playing days were through. Kobe still had so much more to give, and Gigi still had her entire life to turn his gifts into her own.

In quiet, loving memory of all those who were lost in the accident: Kobe and Gianna Bryant; John and Keri Altobelli, and their daughter Alyssa; Sarah Chester and her daughter, Payton; Christina Mauser; and Ara Zobayan.

Our many condolences to their friends and families.  

Sophia Smith made history when she was selected No. 1 in the 2020 NWSL Draft by Portland Thorns FC. She is the first teenager to be ever be selected in the NWSL Draft. Smith left Stanford University with two years of eligibility remaining after leading the Cardinal to the 2019 NCAA Championship, where she was named the College Cup’s Most Outstanding Player.

FIRST OFF, CONGRATULATIONS. WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR HEAD WHEN YOUR NAME WAS CALLED ON DRAFT DAY?

There were a lot of emotions going through my head. It was kind of surreal, and I was both excited and nervous. It was an amazing moment, and to have my parents there was awesome. Honestly, what I was thinking about most was that I was just nervous about the speech I had to give. After that, everything kind of hit me.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST CONSIDER LEAVING SCHOOL EARLY FOR THE DRAFT?

It’s something I’ve thought about for a while. It’s been an option since I got to Stanford, and it just became more realistic toward the end of this season.

WHAT MADE THIS MOMENT THE RIGHT TIME FOR YOU TO TRANSITION TO THE PRO GAME? DID WINNING A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HELP SEAL THAT DECISION?

It obviously helped coming off the season that we had. But in terms of timing, I just felt like I was ready. Not just physically, not just in terms of my skills with the game, but also emotionally and socially. I had a lot of confidence in myself and my abilities, which made me believe that I could fit into a professional environment now. It’s a decision I thought a lot about, and I had a lot of conversations with my parents and the people close to me. It’s going to be a very different lifestyle than here at school, and I’ll miss my friends, but I feel like I’m ready. I know it’ll be hard, but I’m really excited for it. It’s ultimately about getting better and doing anything I can to be the best soccer player that I can be, and I think being around older, more experienced women playing soccer will be very beneficial. Being in a professional environment and being integrated with professional players will help me get a lot better a lot quicker.

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(BRAD SMITH/ISI PHOTOS)
HOW MUCH DID PORTLAND HAVING THE NUMBER ONE PICK PLAY INTO YOUR DECISION? DID YOU TALK TO MANY TEAMS BEFORE THE DRAFT?

There were discussions here and there with numerous different people, but it was ultimately me just following my heart. I don’t think it was as much about what team I was going to. Obviously, it’s awesome that it happened to be Portland, and I’m really excited to be a part of that organization. But I think regardless of the team, it was still the best decision for me. How it all comes together, and how it’s determined who gets what pick, is beyond me. I didn’t have a say in any of that, so I’m just really excited and feel lucky that it happened to be Portland. But regardless of the team, it was just something I was ready to do.

LAST YEAR, YOU BROKE YOUR LEG EARLY IN THE SEASON. THIS YEAR, YOU SCORE A HAT TRICK IN THE SEMIFINAL, WIN A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, AND GET DRAFTED NO. 1. CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT THAT JOURNEY HAS BEEN LIKE?

Breaking my leg was obviously not ideal. That was the first major injury that I’ve had, and, emotionally, I wasn’t sure how to handle it. It didn’t help that I was a freshman, and it was my first year at college. But I had a lot of people close to me who helped me get through it. And the resources here at Stanford in terms of rehab, and the doctors, and the people who did my surgery — the recovery really couldn’t have gone any better than it did. The biggest thing was just trying to stay positive through it, rather than letting it defeat me. It wasn’t an easy path back, and there were a lot of days when I was in pain, but I did a good job of staying positive and doing what I needed to do to get back. The biggest motivation was that I missed playing so much, and going to every practice and watching my teammates play just made me want to get back as soon as possible.

But then this season started, and I was a little bit frustrated, because I didn’t feel like I was 100% myself. I had thought that once my ankle and my leg felt good everything else would just fall into place. But that’s not how it goes. And it took a lot of games to get everything back together and feel normal again. Honestly, I don’t think I felt completely like myself until the Final Four. I didn’t expect it would take that long. It was hard, but I learned a lot from it about not taking things for granted.

I IMAGINE IT WAS FRUSTRATING TO NOT FEEL LIKE YOURSELF UNTIL THE END OF THE SEASON. HOW DID YOU REMAIN SO POSITIVE?

The biggest thing was just knowing what I was capable of. I know that a lot of times you can come back from an injury and just not be able to do the same things that you could do before. But I believed in myself. One thing that my dad always says is don’t let anyone take your confidence away. After a game where you don’t play well, it’s easy to lose confidence. Even the people around you might lose confidence in you. But the biggest thing for me was just to remain confident in myself and my abilities. I had to keep that with me, regardless of what happened on any given day.

WHAT’S YOUR MINDSET HEADING TO PORTLAND?

I’m really excited. I’ve had a lot of good conversations with Mark [Parsons, Thorns Coach] about the team and about where he sees me fitting in. I’m really excited for his plans, and I think the team has a lot of potential to be even better than they have been in the past. There’s a lot of really good players on that team who I look up to, and I’m really excited to play and train with them everyday. I think it’s going to be really good.

ANYONE IN PARTICULAR THAT YOU’RE REALLY PUMPED TO PLAY WITH?

Oh yeah. Tobin Heath, Lindsey Horan, Christine Sinclair. But I also think there’s a lot of good players on that team who don’t get as much attention because of those big name players, and I’m really looking forward to playing with all of them.

YOU PLAYED AGAINST MORGAN WEAVER WHEN SHE WAS AT WASHINGTON STATE. NOW SHE’S HEADING TO PORTLAND AS WELL AFTER BEING DRAFTED NO. 2. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT PLAYING WITH HER?

I know her a little bit from a few camps, but I’m really excited to play with her. She’s a really good player. She works really hard and has a good understanding of the game. I like her a lot. She also seems like a really nice, fun person and friend, so I’m excited that we’re both going to be in Portland together.

Washington State’s all-time leading scorer, Morgan Weaver was selected by the Portland Thorns as the second pick in the 2020 NWSL Draft. Weaver led the Cougars to their first ever College Cup in 2019 and was soon after invited to the USWNT’s senior team training camp in December.

CONGRATULATIONS ON BEING TAKEN NO. 2 IN THE NWSL DRAFT. IT’S BEEN AMAZING TO WATCH YOUR PERFORMANCE THIS PAST SEASON AND TO SEE HOW FAR WASHINGTON STATE HAS COME SINCE YOU ARRIVED. GOING BACK IN TIME, HOW DID YOU END UP AT WASHINGTON STATE? 

My mom made me come on a visit. 100% honesty — I did not want to go to Washington State. I wanted to be a Husky. I grew up about 45 minutes from UW, and I wanted to go there my whole entire life. I was all, go Huskies, go Dawgs. And my club coach said, hey, you should go check out Washington State, they would really love to see you. And I said, yeah, whatever. So they ended up calling my mom to say they wanted to have me on a visit. I said I wouldn’t go, but she said I had to just see what it was like. And then of course I got here and just fell in love with the school. It only took one visit. On the way home I called my dad and said, “I’m going to Washington State. I’m going to be a Coug.” And he goes, “What?!”

THE PROGRAM MADE SO MANY STRIDES DURING YOUR FOUR YEARS. WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THE CULTURE THAT ALLOWED IT TO MAKE THE LEAP? 

I can remember being that freshman on the first road trip who was asking everyone if they needed water, asking the catches after practice if they needed me to pick up the balls. I was absolutely that nervous new player who just wanted to help. And that was true for all the girls in our class, which really showed the upperclassmen that we were committed. And our coaches got on us, they told us we should be competing at the top of the Pac 12. And after we didn’t make the tournament my freshman season, everyone in my class just said we weren’t going to let that happen again. We had practices in the snow while the tournament was going on, and we just kept telling ourselves that we deserved to be playing in it. There was a huge mentality shift. We wanted to be at the top of the conference, and we wanted to show everyone what Washington State was about every time we took the field. And this year, we really did that.

YOU GUYS WENT ON TO BE THE CINDERELLA TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT. DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE CAPABLE OF THAT KIND OF RUN TOWARD THE END OF THE SEASON? 

We knew going into two of our last games against Utah and Colorado that we had to win them both to make the tournament, which we did. But then we lost to Washington, and everyone was just like, “What just happened?” You can’t lose to your rivals. And credit to UW for beating us, but all of us were disappointed. We were furious, and we hated that feeling. I think that took everyone to another level. Once we got back to Pullman, the mentality was just that we weren’t going to lose again. You could feel the intensity at practice.

YOU GUYS KNOCKED OFF TWO TOP-5 TEAMS DURING YOUR RUN. WHAT WAS YOUR MENTALITY LIKE FOR THOSE GAMES? 

Before the Virginia game, there was definitely some nerves. We knew how good they were. But a few of us just grabbed everyone before the game, and we said, look, we’re Washington State. People are scared to play us because we’re physical, we’re athletic, and we don’t stop. And before the game, in the locker room, on the bus, we were all singing. High School Musical, Hannah Montana. Everyone was having fun. That’s when we knew we were going to win the game. When we have that crazy energy, we don’t think there’s anyone that’s going to stop us.

There were also so many families that traveled to every game supporting us. And there were a lot of older players, even from other programs, who kept sending us messages. Abby Wambach even sent a video, which was amazing. But really, we just loved getting to show people that, you know, we’re a small little school in Pullman. We don’t have the No. 1 recruits. But we’re fighters, and we give everything we can. Since I arrived here as a freshman, we’ve been proving to people that we can compete with the best. Honestly, I don’t even think it was a Cinderella story. We were just showing people what we could do. They might have been shocked, but we always felt like we deserved to be there.

EVEN AS YOU KNOCKED OFF TEAMS, THERE WEREN’T A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE MEDIA WHO BELIEVED IN YOU. HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO STAY CONFIDENT? 

I think the other captains and I always did a good job of bringing everyone in and saying, this is just another game. It shouldn’t matter who were playing. We’re going out there to win and to be the best we can. It comes from the coaches, too. They always believed. And I think they did an amazing job proving to us that we’re entitled to have that mentality where it doesn’t matter who we are playing. I mean, we could be playing Chelsea, and we’d still say, it’s just Chelsea, we got this. That’s just who we are. It sounds crazy, but that’s our team. And we loved having the opportunity to prove all the doubters wrong.

BY THE END, YOU ALL HAD A LOT OF NEW FANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHO WERE ROOTING FOR YOU AT THE COLLEGE CUP. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE? 

It was awesome. There were so many girls who messaged me throughout the tournament and this year saying how much they loved watching our team, saying how much we inspired them. I kept reminding everyone on the team that this is what we were playing for. And there were so many girls who said they want to come to Washington State, who said they wanted to be Cougs because of what we had done. That doesn’t happen all the time, and we knew it was special.

FAST-FORWARDING TO THE DRAFT, WHAT WAS THAT LIKE WHEN YOU HEARD THEM CALL YOUR NAME AT NO. 2? 

I thought, dang. I was so excited. And kind of shocked. I mean, I never fully believed I’d be a No. 2 pick in the draft. That’s a pretty high number. I’ve always just gone out there and worked as hard as I could, and now I can’t wait to be in Portland. The team is amazing. Lindsey Horan, Tobin Heath, Christine Sinclair, and so many more. And Portland is only two and a half hours from my house. I’m so close to home. My hard work is finally paying off, but it’s not done.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PERSONAL GOALS FOR THIS YEAR?

I think for me it’s just showing everyone that I can compete, that I’m not just content to be there. I want to prove myself to everyone. I want them to really be excited about having me as a teammate.

BOTH YOU AND SOPHIA SMITH WILL BE HEADING TO PORTLAND. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON PARTNERING UP? 

I’m really excited to get to know her more. We played together at this last national camp in December. She seems really nice, really fun. And I’ve heard great things about her. I had some friends at Washington State who played club with her and who all talked very highly about her.

ANY SHOUT OUT TO THE PORTLAND FAITHFUL? 

Oh yes — I’m so excited to be playing in Portland. I already met some fans at the draft. They gave me a scarf and were incredibly nice. So many people have also reached out over social media to say how excited they are to have me in Portland. It’s amazing, and I’m so excited to get to know them.

The 2020 NWSL Draft is officially behind us, and given how hectic this offseason has been, it only seems fitting that the draft was equally dramatic. A last-minute flurry of trades radically re-ordered the first five picks just as the selections were getting underway. Many of the deals involved allocation money, immediately raising questions about the new rule. The biggest story of the day, however, was Mallory Pugh being traded from Washington to Sky Blue in a deal that could have a long-term impact on both franchises.

Below, we run through all the biggest NWSL headlines from draft day and beyond:

Portland snags the top two picks, sparking debate: Portland had already traded Emily Sonnett to Orlando ahead of the draft for the No. 1 pick, with which they were widely expected to select Stanford’s Sophia Smith. They did just that, and then shocked the league by trading $70,000 of allocation money and two later picks to the Chicago Red Stars for the No. 2 pick, which they subsequently used on Washington State’s Morgan Weaver. Weaver was a one-woman wrecking crew during Washington State’s magical run to last year’s College Cup, where Smith herself scored a hat trick in the semifinal. Portland now has two young offensive stars to anchor its apparent rebuild.

The trade between Portland and Chicago was one of many on draft day to involve allocation money, which was only introduced this past November. Intended to help teams pay certain players above the salary cap, the new spending mechanism is now already under fire, as coaches (including North Carolina’s Paul Riley) have said it will set a new precedent allowing teams to essentially buy first round draft picks. Expect this to be a hotly-debated issue moving forward.

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TONY QUINN/ISI PHOTOS

Sky Blue trades for Mallory Pugh: In a deal no one saw coming, the 21-year-old USWNT forward was traded from Washington to Sky Blue for the 4th, 13th, and 17th overall picks in this year’s draft, as well as a first round pick in next year’s draft. Pugh skipped college to join the Spirit three years ago, but hasn’t quite lived up to, let alone surpassed, the hype that comes with being a teenage wunderkind, and just last week she was left off the USWNT’s Olympic roster. Still, she’s only 21, making this trade a potential franchise-changer for Sky Blue if Pugh can get back on track. A year ago Sky Blue couldn’t even convince their two draft picks to sign with the club. Now they have an A-list name to headline their roster as they move into Red Bull Arena next season, completing a stunning one-year turnaround.

Washington Spirit trade up for Ashley Sanchez: Sanchez, like Sophia Smith, left school early to enter the NWSL draft. Unlike Smith, it wasn’t obvious from the outset where Sanchez would go, and few could have predicted Washington, a franchise that initially had no first-round picks. That changed when they traded Mallory Pugh to Sky Blue, giving the Spirit the opportunity to immediately draft her potential replacement in Sanchez, another dribble-heavy offensive talent who starred for the USWNT at the youth level before being called into the senior team as a teenager. With the additions of Sanchez and Averie Collins (Washington’s second-round pick) to a squad that already includes Rose Lavalle, Jordan DiBiasi, Tegan McGrady, and Andi Sullivan — all of whom are under 25 —  it’s clear the Spirit now have a young core to build around.

Chicago Red Stars rake in players, money, and future picks: After falling in last season’s championship game and watching Sam Kerr decamp to Chelsea, the Red Stars managed to turn four first round picks in this years draft into Rachel Hill, a reported $85,000 in allocation money, five picks in this draft, and a first round pick in next year’s draft. The Red Stars now have four first round picks in next year’s draft, and while neither Hill nor any of the five players selected this year may turn out to be franchise stars, they’re all valuable assets that can be bundled in a variety of ways moving forward as Chicago looks to rebuild on the fly.

Reign FC announce new, controversial head coach: Former OL and PSG head coach Farid Benstiti has officially been named the new head coach of Reign FC. Benstiti won four league titles and three cups during his time in France and has a long track record of developing world-class players. He’s also the coach who told Lindsey Horan she wouldn’t be allowed off the bench until she lost weight. Horan went on to make an entire commercial based on the slight, and though she’s since said that Benstiti’s tough love made her a better player, there’s no doubt this hire — the first to be made by new ownership group OL Groupe — could come under serious fire if Benstiti isn’t able to establish good relationships out of the gates.

Below is every pick from the 2020 draft:

Round 1:

  1. Portland — Sophia Smith, Stanford

  2. Portland — Morgan Weaver, Washington State

  3. Orlando — Taylor Kornieck, Colorado

  4. Washington — Ashley Sanchez, UCLA

  5. Sky Blue — Evelyne Viens, USF

  6. North Carolina — Alleandra Watt, Texas A&M

  7. Orlando — Courtney Peterson, Virginia

  8. Utah — Tziarra King, North Carolina State University

  9. Reign FC — Kelcie Hedge, Santa Clara

Round 2:

  1. Orlando — Konya Plummer, UCF

  2. Sky Blue — Kaleigh Riehl, Penn State

  3. Utah — Kate Del Fava, Illinois State

  4. Washington — Natalie Jacobs, USC

  5. Orlando — Phoebe McClernon, UVA

  6. Chicago — Julia Bingham, USC

  7. Chicago — Camryn Biegalski, UW

  8. Washington — Averie Collins, Washington State

  9. Houston — Bridgette Andrzejewski, UNC

Round 3:

  1. Chicago — Zoe Morse, UVA

  2. Sky Blue — Amanda McGlynn, Virginia Tech

  3. Orlando — Cheyenne Shorts, Denver

  4. Houston — Chloe Castaneda, UCLA

  5. Washington — Katie McClure, Kansas

  6. Chicago — Ella Stevens, Duke

  7. Portland — Meaghan Nally, Georgeton

  8. Orlando — Abi Kim, Cal

  9. North Carolina — Sinclaire Miramontez, Nebraska

Round 4:

  1. North Carolina — Addisyn Merrick, Kansas

  2. Sky Blue — Chantelle Swaby, Rutgers

  3. Orlando — Chelsee Washington, Bowling Green

  4. Utah — Cyera Hintzen, Texas

  5. Washington — Kaiya McCullough, UCLA

  6. Reign FC — Sam Hiatt, Stanford

  7. Reign FC — Meg Brandt, Nebraska

  8. Chicago — Aerial Chavarin, Yale

  9. North Carolina — Brianne Folds, Auburn

In a penalty shootout against North Carolina, Katie Meyer made two critical saves to help Stanford win its third NCAA women’s soccer championship. Her celebration after the final save immediately went viral. Two days earlier, Meyer had sent the internet into a frenzy after trash-talking a UCLA player whose penalty shot she saved in their semifinal match. Just Women’s Sports caught up with Meyer to talk about that play, the national championship, and the politics of sportsmanship.

Can we set the record straight on that semifinal game against UCLA? The talk online was that you cussed at the player. I heard from others that’s not what happened. 

No, that’s not what happened. There wasn’t a lot of context around that moment, which is why I wish it had stayed on the field. But here’s the deal: my defense has been insane all year, which means there have been a lot of questions about what I can actually do as a keeper. And in the seventh minute of the UCLA game, I let in a shot that I think I should have saved. As we’re huddling to regroup, Mia [Fishel, UCLA player] runs by shouting, “We scored because of the keeper. It’s the keeper,” basically telling her team I was the weak link, which, when you’ve just let in a soft goal, isn’t super exciting to hear.

So then right before the half, Mia takes a PK, and I save it. Had any other player taken the PK, I wouldn’t have said anything. But she’d been talking, so I talked back. I asked her, “Is it the keeper? Is it the keeper?” I wish it had stayed on the field, but it didn’t. Mia’s a great player. I’ve known her for a while, and we’re competitive. We get heated in the moment, just like guys do. And we’ll play each other again.

Did you look at any of the things people were saying online afterwards? 

I had to delete Instagram and Twitter from my phone after the game. We were playing for a championship in two days, I didn’t have time to mope around and be like, “Oh no, people on Twitter don’t like me.” When I finally re-downloaded the apps, some of it was definitely hard to read, because I do want to be a role model for little girls. I want to show them that hard work and dedication can empower them to do whatever they put their mind to. So I do actually care about what a mom in Wyoming has to say. To be fair, there were a lot of people who were super positive. There’s a community of women’s soccer fans on Twitter, and they were all supportive. And the reaction after the championship shootout was basically all positivity and excitement, which turned things around.

People were still debating whether your celebration crossed the line during the championship game. There was a lot of talk about how female athletes are expected to act. What are your thoughts? 

It’s almost disappointing that a display like that is considered so extreme. Men in sports celebrate all the time, and I get that guys also get bad reactions from fans and people online. But going forward, I hope that if girls react that way again, which they will, because women are fierce, and everyone likes to play and be competitive — I hope the reaction stays positive. In the end, I’m happy a conversation was started about women being competitive because that’s what we are. We get heated in the moment. You can find that competitiveness anywhere, from lawyers, to moms, to someday, the future female president. People just need to take a step back and ask themselves, why do I think this? Why am I so shocked by a woman showing her passion?

There are girls everywhere who have been forced to say, “Oh, I’m a tomboy.” No, you’re a strong girl. You’re a passionate girl, and that’s totally fine. And you’re going to stay that way, because we need it.

Especially in sports. I mean, if you’re not allowed to get fired up then, I don’t know when you can. 

Exactly. I don’t know what people wanted me to do. A lot of people were saying, act like you’ve been there before. Well, I’m 19, I haven’t. The most competitive soccer game I’d ever played in before that was an international friendly, years ago. And this was for all the marbles.

I also just think there should be more joy in the game. You see all these scorers celebrating their goals, let a goalkeeper celebrate their save. On the practice field every day, we talk to each other, we make jokes, we get competitive, it’s loud. That’s where the fun comes from. And if it makes it more entertaining to watch, great. And if you hate it, turn off the TV. But if there’s a day where I don’t feel that amount of joy after saving a PK in the championship game, I’ll stop playing. I’ll go to law school.

For people who haven’t been in those kinds of moments, can you explain what it’s like? 

That moment meant so much to me because of my journey leading up to it. My reaction came from all the work that went into that championship and all the joy I have for the sport. You’re looking at a girl who was cut from her first club team, who didn’t make the U17s World Cup roster a few years ago, redshirted last year. You have all these ups and downs in your soccer career and then you get the big yes, and you know this is exactly what you are supposed to be doing. There’s no purer joy.

Even though Stanford looked like the better team in regulation, the game still went into PKs, which are always a bit of a toss up. What was your mindset going into that? 

I had the utmost confidence going into that shootout. I told my teammates we we’re going to come out on top. Hit your PK like you know it’s going in, because it is. Claudia Dickey [UNC’s goalkeeper] did phenomenal. But it went our way, and I don’t think it was luck. I think that it was everything that this team put on the line to get to where we were. We knew before the game that the outcome had already been decided. We just had to go out there and do it. And when you have a team that truly believes that, I don’t think you can fail.

For you personally, where does that kind of positive energy come from? 

It comes from my parents, first and foremost. I can still remember my dad taking me to the parking garage in the mall so we could run up the incline with parachutes on. Him and my mom just dumped everything into my sisters and I. So it’s them. It’s my teammates. It’s watching Sophia Smith come back from an injury that, with anyone else, I don’t know if they keep playing or not, but she came back with grace. It’s people like Civana Kuhlmann. She tore her ACL in an exhibition game and didn’t get to play a minute this season, but she stayed one of the most positive people on the team. It’s everyone. When people around you pour that belief into you, you give it back to them. And it comes out in the purest joy, in that childish love for the game that I think is deep inside every soccer player.

Looking back, what stands out about Championship weekend?

It was the best weekend of my life. It was all a whirlwind. It’s been a few weeks and I’m still waking up thinking, did it really happen that way? But that’s how the season ended, and no one can take that from this incredible team and coaching staff, ever. It’s crazy, and it’s rewarding. The fact that I could contribute to us winning the championship — there’s no greater feeling.

Sam Kerr made her highly-anticipated debut for Chelsea last Sunday, notching an assist in a 3-1 win over Reading. Though Kerr’s blockbuster move to Chelsea was announced in November, the rules of the British transfer system meant she had to wait until the new year to make her first appearance with the Blues.

After a bit of a nervous start, during which Kerr uncharacteristically skied an easy opportunity over goal, the Australian superstar settled down and looked comfortable playing with a team she only just joined the week prior.

In the 16th minute, Kerr was given her proper introduction to the WSL, as keeper Grace Moloney toppled the striker with a reckless challenge that resulted in an immediate red card.

Kerr would remain on the ground for several minutes before rising to her feet. Minutes later, her slick back-heel assist to Beth England leveled the game at 1-1. That kind of improvisational flair is exactly what Chelsea was hoping for when they signed Kerr to her record deal, and the Blues faithful are optimistic this is just the first of many goals they’ll see involving Kerr and England.

Kerr missed on several shots that we have seen her confidently tuck away in the NWSL, but given the new continent and team, as well as the sky-high expectations for the 26-year-old striker, it’s hard to be anything but pleased with her performance if you’re a Chelsea fan. Even a blocked shot of Kerr’s became a moment of magic when Guro Reiten one-touch volleyed the rebound into the net.

Beyond playing a smart, controlled game, Kerr looked comfortable working with a Chelsea team that was already on the brink of greatness without her. Now she’ll just have to bury her first WSL goal to finalize her arrival.

“[An assist] is good but I missed a few chances there so I have to sharpen up on my shooting,” said Kerr. “I was actually nervous because it [the game’s early chance] was my first one-on-one in a few months.”

Kerr has already made herself a fan favorite of the Blues community off the field, and after the game she rewarded their support by sticking around to take pictures and sign autographs. One fan even brought an inflatable kangaroo to show her.

Chelsea’s manager Emma Hayes was likewise pleased with Kerr’s performance, saying that she “could not ask any more” of Kerr in her debut. Hayes went on to describe Kerr as “humble, hard-working, honest, thoughtful, and an unbelievable team player.”

“You can have top players,” Hayes added, “but to have a top player who is a top person – happy days.”

Kerr’s arrival means Hayes has some excess talent to manage, as the Blues’ attacking options also include Switzerland’s Ramona Bachmann and England’s Fran Kirby, as well as Sunday’s goal scorers – England, Norway’s Guro Reiten and Scotland’s Erin Cuthbert.

But asked about the added competition for places, Hayes replied: “It’s their problem, it’s my privilege.”

For the second year in a row, Baylor has upset a #1 ranked UConn team, breaking another Huskies winning streak in the process. One year after ending UConn’s 126 regular-season win streak at home in Waco, the #6 Lady Bears took down Geno Auriemma’s squad 74-58 on Thursday in Hartford. The loss snapped UConn’s 98-game home winning streak.

The 16 point margin made this UConn’s worst loss since 2007, when LSU beat them by 23 in the NCAA tournament.

While fans aren’t used to seeing UConn get beat like this, this Huskies team is also the first in quite some time without any championship experience on its roster. UConn has been knocked out of the semis the past three years after winning four straight titles from 2013-2016. That inexperience showed on Wednesday, as a dominant Lady Bears’ defense held UConn to just six 4th quarter points on 2-18 shooting.

Earlier this year, Auriemma stated that he didn’t think his team deserved their No. 1 rank (which they only secured after both Oregon and Stanford lost.) Baylor, last year’s national champions, did him the honor of confirming his suspicions.

Graduate transfer Te-a Cooper led the way with 27 points. Sophomore NaLyssa Smith added 20 points and 12 rebounds, while senior Lauren Cox, who missed eight games earlier this season, played all but 17 seconds of Thursday’s contest, scoring 16.

“We knew it would be a good game and watched nationally,” Baylor’s coach Kim Mulkey said. “We’re trying to win our 10th consecutive Big 12 title, trying to get a good seed in the NCAA tournament. I don’t think there is one team that is just head and shoulders above anybody. I think there’s about six teams that have the ability, the talent and the coaching to win it all this year.”

Former NBA commissioner David Stern passed away on New Years Day at the age of 77. While Stern may be most famous for growing the NBA into a global phenomenon during his 30-year tenure as commissioner, he also made a dramatic impact on women’s sports by launching the WNBA in 1997. Val Ackerman, the first WNBA president, called him the “mastermind,” saying, “Without his vision and engagement, the league wouldn’t have gotten off the ground.” (Stern, on his part, called Ackerman the league’s principal “navigator and guide.”)

Tributes to Stern have been pouring in from across the basketball world, from players like Candace Parker and Chiney Ogwumike, to executives such as Kelly Krauskopf and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

Known for being an iron-willed businessman, Stern took a hands-on approach to everything, including the WNBA, a league he proudly championed throughout his career. Stern was known for aggressively lobbying media editors for better coverage of the WNBA, saying, “We felt the WNBA didn’t get the respect that we thought it deserved.”

That doesn’t mean Stern always played nice. He famously hard-balled the WNBPA during CBA negotiations in 2003, threatening to cancel the season if he didn’t get his way. In retrospect, his anger over what he perceived to be a lack of appreciation from the WNBA’s players now seems insensitive at best.

But Stern was ultimately a big-picture thinker, and in light of his passing, it’s only right to likewise judge his career from a big-picture perspective. The fact is he didn’t just open doors — he created them. To this day, he remains the only commissioner of a major professional sports league in America to launch a professional women’s league. While the WNBA has been and continues to be fueled by the tireless work of countless determined women, there’s no doubt that without Stern’s initiative, the league wouldn’t have been founded when it was and wouldn’t now be heading toward its 24th season.

Stern saw women’s basketball as both an important social cause and a legitimate business interest. That kind of allyship and vision from those in power remains absolutely essential to the growth of women’s sports everywhere.

I am what people would consider a “perfectionist.” I can remember getting a 99 on a math test in 8th grade and immediately feeling a pit in my stomach. You couldn’t convince me that wasn’t a letdown.

This pressure has always been self-inflicted. It’s the source of both my greatest achievements as well as my most persistent anxieties.

It was this need to be perfect — this unshakable desire to make my parents and my peers proud, despite their insisting that they already were — that used to keep me up at night, staring at the ceiling, contemplating how my life would change when I finally revealed the one secret that had been festering in my mind for years. The secret that, instead of fading with time, had forced its way deeper into my thoughts and feelings with each passing day.

Will they still love me? Will they still be proud? Will they still want to be my friend?

I asked myself these questions again and again.

What will change when I tell them that I think I am gay?

For years, I was able to bury these incessant questions by throwing myself into my sport. When I was on the field, and only when I was on the field, I could quiet the voice in my head. Then the questions surrounding my identity and how it might damage my closest relationships would disappear. On the field, I was a soccer player. And I was only a soccer player.

Rather than reflect on who I was, I thought about ways to train and which college I should play for. But once I was settled at Penn State University, I found myself with more time on my own and more individual freedom. I could no longer perpetually ignore my internal confusions by being entirely consumed with something else, and so I finally allowed myself the space to explore my sexuality.

By sophomore year, I had my first steady relationship. I tried to keep it quiet, but — as many of you know — there’s no hiding things from your team. I realized that despite my best efforts, they’d find out eventually. I knew I had to tell them first.

I remember sitting one of my teammates down and, my voice shaking, finally confessing my innermost secret.

“Okay, so you’re gay,” she blankly replied. “What do you want to do for lunch?”

I couldn’t have been more relieved. What I considered this huge secret, this monumental revelation, didn’t change our relationship at all. And as the rest of my teammates found out, not one of them judged me, shunned me, or looked at me any differently. They didn’t care.

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It was this initial relief that gave me the courage to officially come out to my older brother Kevin. Sitting on an old couch in the living room of my college house, I wiped the sweat off my palms and took out my phone. Struggling through trembling fingers, I typed, “Hey” into the message field and sent it to him.

“Hey,” he replied.

“I’ve got something to tell you,” I wrote, working up the courage to type those words that I’d held close for so long.

“Oh yeah?” he inquired.

“I think I’m gay.”

“You think?”

“I’m gay,” I wrote, as my heart leapt from my chest.

I watched the three bubbles bob as he typed, my stomach churning with each passing moment. And then, it appeared. Kevin replied,

“I’m so proud of you. You’re always going to be my little sister. I don’t care who you love, I will always love you.”

After coming out to Kevin and receiving his support, I felt liberated to tell the rest of my family. I also started to open up with my friends and teammates about my relationship and my life in general. All my fears, constant companions for so many years, were proven inconsequential. My family, my friends, my teammates: they didn’t care who I loved, as long as I was happy.

Soccer went from being my escape to becoming an incredible support system. By finally letting myself be vulnerable, by sharing the parts of myself I’d previously kept hidden, fearing they were “too different” to share, I was able to connect with my friends and teammates on a deeper level.

As I sit here now reflecting on my own story and all of the twists and turns that have led me to this point, I can’t help but feel grateful. I grew up with an extremely loving and supportive family that molded me into the person and athlete I am today. Their love, along with the support of the soccer community, has helped me realize that of all the successes a person can achieve, the greatest is being proud of exactly who they are.

Even though I’ve only just scratched the surface of my self-understanding, I’ve learned that what was truly bothering me wasn’t being gay. It was the uncertainty surrounding it all. I was worried that being gay was an imperfection. I was worried that being gay would let other people down. But when I was consumed by these concerns regarding other people’s opinions of me, I was worried about things that were simply out of my control.

Now, instead of focusing on the different ways outsiders may perceive me, I reflect on all of the people in my life that love and support me unconditionally. I focus on treating others with respect, and I trust that the values of decency and kindness form the only compass I truly need.

So, what changed when I came out to my family and friends?

Nothing, or almost nothing. My family still loved me, and my friends were still my friends. None of our relationships were any different. Only my own self-perception was transformed: I discovered more confidence, insight, and perspective than I could have ever hoped for.