The U.S. women’s national team players have attracted criticism in recent years for their political activism. Some have urged them to “stick to soccer.”

For Midge Purce, who has played for the team on and off since 2017, the controversy surrounding Spain’s World Cup win – after which Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish football federation (RFEF), kissed star player Jenni Hermoso on the lips – proves that refrain is off-base.

“When everyone was talking about the U.S. national team players, and how they’re not likable because they use their platform to speak on so many political issues, and basically (telling them to) stick to playing soccer — I think, in light of what we just witnessed on the World Cup stage, it just reiterates that there is not a space at the moment to just play soccer,” Purce said on “The 91st,” the Just Women’s Sports podcast she co-hosts alongside Katie Nolan.

Purce added: “You don’t think people just want to play soccer?”

Rubiales has since apologized for the incident, but he continues to face criticism. On Tuesday, Spain’s acting prime minster Pedro Sánchez said Rubiales’ apology “wasn’t sufficient.”

“Mr. Rubiales needs to continue to take steps to clarify what we all saw,” Sánchez said.

Purce also said Spain’s win should not count as proof that embattled head coach Jorge Vilda is the right fit for the team. Before the World Cup, 15 players wrote a letter to the RFEF criticizing his management style.

“I don’t really see this line of reasoning, which is, you win, you must stay. I think it prioritizes the values of society really, really poorly,” Purce said. “What a dangerous message to send to not just young women, but young men as well.”

Alyssa Naeher exited the Chicago Red Stars game early on Sunday with an apparent injury.

After making a recovery run in the second half of Chicago's 3-1 win over the Utah Royals, the 36-year-old walked off the pitch limping but unassisted in the 62nd minute. She was replaced by backup keeper Mackenzie Wood.

Red Stars head coach Lorne Donaldson didn’t offer an update on the star goalkeeper's status in his postgame interview.

"No [update], I'm leaving it to the pros — the medical staff — so I don't know what's going on yet," he said.

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While the injury is bad news for Chicago, who currently sit fifth in the NWSL table, it’s also potentially troubling for the UWSNT's Olympic prospects. Naeher, a two-time Women's World Cup champion with the US, has served as the team's default starting goalkeeper for the last several years. 

Naeher is virtually a lock for the 2024 Olympics, should her injury not be too serious. But depending on its gravity, the knock could keep her out of a series of upcoming friendlies kicking off June 1st and 4th, Emma Hayes’ first as head coach for the USWNT. 

Also leaving her game with an injury on Sunday was Jaedyn Shaw, who limped off the pitch well into stoppage time in the Wave's 1-1 draw with Gotham FC. Shaw has recently emerged as one of the Wave's top strikers, making it all the more concerning if she ends up joining teammates Alex Morgan, Naomi Girma, and Abby Dahlkemper on the injured list. All four have played in recent camps for the USWNT.

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San Diego head coach Casey Stoney did not provide an update following Sunday's game, but noted that she thought Shaw had landed on her ankle. 

The 2024 Paris Olympics begins Friday, July 26th, with rostered players scheduled to appear in their final club matches in mid-July.

The WNBA 28th season officially begins on Tuesday, May 14th.

A four-game doubleheader is set to kick things off on opening day, with a sold-out matchup featuring Caitlin Clark’s regular season debut with the Indiana Fever leading the charge. A'ja Wilson and the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces will also be in action, going up against the Phoenix Mercury at 10 PM ET in the evening's second act. 

First up are the New York Liberty and Washington Mystics, with 2023 league MVP Breanna Stewart hoping to once again guide her team back to the WNBA Finals. Last year, Stewart led the team in scoring with 23.1 points per game, while the Liberty notched a league-best 11.1 three-pointers per game last season. 

For their part, the Mystics find themselves without longtime forward Elena Delle Donne this season. Rookie Aaliyah Edwards will attempt to fill the void, being one to watch as Washington looks to turn the page on its next chapter.

At 7:30 PM ET, the Fever face the perennially dangerous Connecticut Sun. Indiana is coming off their best season since 2019, finishing the year 13 and 27 overall. Armed with 2024's No. 1 draft pick, they're now looking to make their first playoffs appearance since 2016. This could be one of the first true tests for the much-hyped Caitlin Clark, as the rookie squares off with Sun starter DeWanna Bonner.

The 10 PM ET bill keeps things going with the 2024 WNBA title-winning Aces hosting the Mercury at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. Despite losing superstar Candace Parker to retirement in April, the Aces' roster remains stacked with household names Sydney Colson, Kelsey Plum, and Kiah Stokes complementing rookie Kate Martin and two-time league MVP Wilson. They'll need to harness some of that 2023 champion chemistry on the court if they want to one-up a veteran-heavy Phoenix squad.

Rounding out the night is a Seattle team headlined by offseason additions Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith plus 2024 draft pick, UConn alum Nika Mühl. Paired up with team stalwart Jewell Loyd, the powerful arrangement could make for a sneaky sleeper pick for the WNBA Finals. Minnesota, meanwhile, won both of its preseason games, with 2024 draftee Alissa Pili putting up some solid performances under the basket. Pili, alongside Napheesa Collier and Diamond Miller, could form a tough defensive wall capable of silencing even the most offensively gifted opponents.

Tuesday, May 14th:

• New York Liberty vs. Washington Mystics at 7 PM ET on ESPN3/WNBA League Pass
• Indiana Fever vs. Connecticut Sun at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN2/ESPN+
• Phoenix Mercury vs. Las Vegas Aces at 10 PM ET on ESPN2/ESPN+
• Minnesota Lynx vs. Seattle Storm at 10 PM ET on ESPN3/WNBA League Pass

Wednesday, May 15th:

• Chicago Sky vs. Dallas Wings at 8 PM ET on WNBA League Pass
• Atlanta Dream vs. Los Angeles Sparks at 10 PM ET on WNBA League Pass

WSL star Vivianne Miedema will be leaving Arsenal at the end of the season, she announced on social media Monday.

In a video posted to Arsenal's main Instagram page, the Dutch striker said that it was time for her seven-year journey with the club to come to an end.

"To have represented a club like this, with so much history and tradition, has been an absolute honor,” she said. "So above all else, I would like to say thank you for making this chapter of my life so memorable."

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Widely regarded as one of the best forwards in the world, Miedema has been dealing with an ongoing ACL injury over the past two seasons, an issue that kept her out of last summer’s Women's World Cup. In her personal farewell post, the former Gunner said rupturing her ACL has been "one of the toughest things I’ve had to go through in my career," noting that her Arsenal teammates’ support was "something I’ll always remember."

Even still, she said, "it’s time to move on." Miedema joined the Gunners in 2017 from Bayern Munich, scoring 125 goals and providing 50 assists over 172 appearances. She was the WSL’s top scorer in 2018-19, setting the all-time record with 78 goals as she helped Arsenal win the league title for the first time in seven years. 

Miedema took home a second Golden Boot for her efforts during the 2019-2020 season. Her six-goal outing against Bristol City in 2019 still counts as the most goals scored by an individual player in a single match in WSL history. In March 2022, she became the first player in WSL history to reach 100 goal involvements, and remains the league's all-time leading scorer.

Sources have said that head coach Jonas Eidevall's side opted not to offer Miedema a new contract for the upcoming season.

"On behalf of everyone at the club, we thank Viv for her huge contribution towards the success of the team during her seven years with us," said Arsenal sporting director Edu Gaspar in a team statement. "Viv’s goals and overall performances as an Arsenal player have been of the highest quality, and she has created so many wonderful memories for us over the years. We wish Viv and her family the best of health and happiness for the future."

Several hours after the news broke Monday morning, ESPN reported that Manchester City was interested in signing the 27-year-old, pegging City as her "most likely destination." Neither club has confirmed the reports.

Two-time WNBA champion and league MVP A’ja Wilson is getting her own shoe. 

The WNBA star announced the pending arrival of her long-awaited Nike signature on Saturday, the same day that the Las Vegas Aces played the Puerto Rican national team at South Carolina. The preseason matchup was a homecoming for Wilson, who played for the Gamecocks and grew up in Columbia —making it a fitting moment to drop the news. 

Wilson showed up to the arena with a sweatshirt that read "Of Course I Have A Shoe Dot Com," revealing a URL that redirects to Nike’s website. The sneaker will be called the A’One.

The shoe — along with Wilson’s signature collection — will arrive in 2025. Having first signed with the athletic mega-brand as a rookie in 2018, the former No. 1 draft pick has reportedly been refining designs with Nike for over a year. 

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"It's been incredible working with Nike toward a dream of having my collection, and it really is an honor to take this next step and become a Nike signature athlete," Wilson said in Saturday's press release. "From my logo to the look of the shoe and the pieces throughout the collection, we've worked to make sure every detail is perfectly tuned to my game and style."

She told Andscape’s Aaron Dodson that the highlight for her was being able to announce the drop in conjunction with the Aces’ trip to her alma mater and hometown.

"The biggest thing for me is I get to showcase what I've been working on for a couple of years now in my home state, in my home city," Wilson said. "A place where people watched me grow and I raised eyebrows like, 'Is she really that good?!' To then seeing me in college and now in the pros."

When the A'One debuts, the 27-year-old will most likely be the 14th WNBA athlete to receive a signature shoe. Current players with active shoe contracts include Breanna Stewart, Elena Delle Donne, and Sabrina Ionescu. Caitlin Clark is next in line to receive a shoe in her new deal with Nike, although the brand has yet to confirm that detail.

After talk of Clark's shoe-inclusive Nike deal hit the headlines in mid-April, questions arose around Wilson's lack of signature footwear, with many pointing to a dearth of Black representation within the recent influx of shoe collaborations. The last Black WNBA player to receive her own shoe was Candace Parker with Adidas in 2010, while Wilson marks the first Black WNBA player to ink a Nike shoe agreement since Sheryl Swoopes in 2002.

"There's definitely value in patience," Wilson told Andscape. "That's something [South Carolina] Coach [Dawn] Staley has taught me — that some of the best things come from waiting and 'what's delayed is not denied.' That's something I have tatted on me. That's something I live through. So it's something I'm going to stick through."

In a news release, Nike said they were "proud to introduce A'ja Wilson as the newest member of the brand's signature family, marking the next chapter of partnership with one of basketball's greatest athletes."

Wilson is working with the same shoe designer that partnered with Ionescu, as well as Kyrie Irving before the Mavericks shooting guard parted ways with Nike in 2022. Wilson's upcoming signature collection will be "inspired by her distinctive style, incredible performance, and unapologetic realness," per Nike. "As one of the most iconic basketball players of her generation, of course, she got a shoe," they added.

Wilson’s hopes for the shoe is that girls wearing it can "feel powerful and understand that nobody can stop them from their dreams."

"It’s been an incredible ride, but there’s a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders now because it was starting to get hard," Wilson told Andscape. "But with the movement and growth of the game, I feel like this was the perfect time to say, 'Hey, I got a shoe on the way.'"