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Jenna Hellstrom details Richie Burke abuse as former Spirit coach calls her a ‘cancer’

(Bryan Byerly/ISI Photos)

In her first public comments since coming forward as one of the players verbally abused by former-Washington Spirit coach Richie Burke, Jenna Hellstrom is lifting the curtains on what happened during her time in the NWSL.

Speaking with TSN, Hellstrom says that she can’t see herself ever returning to the NWSL after having played just one season in Washington under Burke. Currently, Hellstrom plays for KIF Orebro DFF in Sweden and as a forward on the Canadian national team.

Hellstrom admits that she struggled with coming forward publicly, but wants other Canadian athletes to feel like they can come forward.

In the article, Burke details one instance in which Burke singled her out in practice in the lead up to her debut game. During practice, Hellstrom allowed a player to score on her. She says that Burke screamed at her, “If that happens in the game, you’re never going to play for me.”

Hellstrom recalls feeling nervous, with Burke’s comments heightening her anxiety. Then, as she was about to be subbed into the game, Hellstrom says Burke told her, “If you make an attacking run and they score – that’s on you. You’re going to lose the game for us.

“I was feeling anxiety,” she told TSN. “I never felt anxiety ever in my life. I just felt so much pressure in my chest.”

A player with the team, who chose to remain anonymous, confirmed to TSN that Hellstrom seemed to be visibly shaken by Burke’s comments.

“[She] seemed to be physically struggling, like she couldn’t catch her breath or something,” they said.

Kaiya McCullough, who came forward publicly in the initial Washington Post story, discussed the incident with TSN.

“He wasn’t giving her any room to breathe, basically,” McCullough said. “And you can see her sort of spiraling on the field. I think everybody who knew Richie knew that he wasn’t going to let up.

“It was like watching a car crash – you knew what was going to happen, but there wasn’t really anything you could do about it.”

After the game, as Hellstrom was conversing with another Spirit player, Burke — upon noticing the conversation — interrupted and began to yell at Hellstrom. According to TSN, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed these reports.

Burke allegedly told Hellstrom, “You’re selfish. You took [one of our players] away from our first win… You’re never going to make Canada again. You’re not mentally tough.” According to Hellstrom, Burke berated her for close to 30 minutes following the game.

Hellstrom also details a separate instance in which she was late returning to the team for training due to her grandmother passing away. Upon her return to play, she says Burke said to her, “Okay, you were just on a six-week vacation. Let’s see what you got.”

“Who says that to a player?” Hellstrom said. “It wasn’t a vacation. It was watching my grandma die.”

Despite reporting her experiences in the league’s end-of-the-year survey, Hellstrom says she never heard anything from the league.

In response to a request for comment, Burke made his first public comments regarding the saga in a text message to TSN:

“It was clear that Jenna Hellstrom didn’t like me & I couldn’t stand her either. I couldn’t wait to get her out of the club because she was a cancer in the dressing room. She’d constantly make snarky comments at training & was influencing other players negatively.”

McCullough, however, denies this claim, calling Jenna a “very positive influence around everybody.”

“I tried to move her in several trades,” Burke continued. “But no one was interested in including her in exchange for other players,”

In a separate text, Burke said that the investigation done by independent parties “could NOT SUBSTANTIATE ANY CLAIMS OF VERBAL ABUSE MADE BY PLAYERS IN 2020.”

“I’ve been hounded out of a job, lost my reputation & income & falsely accused by players with an axe to grind,” he said.

Upon conclusion of the league’s independent investigation in September, Burke was fired by the league ”for cause” and is not allowed to work with any NWSL players.

WSL and WSL2 Clubs Vote in Favor of English League Expansion

Chelsea FC attacker Aggie Beever-Jones celebrates a goal during a 2025 WSL match.
Despite previous proposals, the expanding WSL will not forgo relegation. (Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

The Women's Super League (WSL) is growing, with the UK league's top two flights deciding in a Monday expansion vote to enlarge its top tier from 12 to 14 teams ahead of the 2026/27 season.

The number of matches played each season will also balloon from 22 to 26 games to accommodate the incoming clubs, as will established cup competitions.

Monday also saw the WSL vote down a prior proposal to temporarily suspend the relegation and promotion process to accommodate this expansion, deciding instead to adopt a "two up, one down" model for the second-tier WSL2 next season.

As such, the top two finishers of the 2025/26 WSL2 season will automatically join the higher-tier WSL, while the WSL's last-place team will battle the WSL2's third-place club in "a high-profile, high stakes match" for the final spot in the top flight.

After reaching 14 teams, both leagues will return to relegating the last-place WSL finisher while promoting the WSL2's top team for the following season.

Along with the increased investment in club infrastructure, a 14-team WSL keeps pace with the global women's game — most notably, the NWSL, which will become a 16-team league in 2026.

"Our priority was to find a route that would benefit the whole women's game pyramid, and we believe this next evolution of women's professional football will raise minimum standards, create distinction, and incentivize investment across the board," said WSL Football CEO Nikki Doucet.

WNBA Teams Offset Injuries, EuroBasket Departures with Short-Term Contracts

Golden State Valkyries rookie Kaitlyn Chen dribbles the ball up the court during a 2025 WNBA preseason game.
2025 WNBA draftee Kaitlyn Chen returned to the Golden State Valkyries to offset EuroBasket roster departures. (Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

With EuroBasket set to tip off on Wednesday and injuries mounting league-wide, WNBA teams are filling out dwindling rosters with more short-term contracts — and calling back some familiar faces along the way.

While some European standouts withdrew from EuroBasket consideration — including Phoenix's Satou Sabally and Seattle's Gabby Williams — others, like New York's Leonie Fiebich and Golden State's Temi Fagbenle, will join their national teams for the regional FIBA tournament through the end of June.

Due to these planned absences, WNBA teams temporarily suspend their EuroBasket players' contracts, allowing squads to add others to their rosters.

Players signed due to temporary absences are technically on rest-of-season deals, though the agreements can end whenever the missing athletes return.

In contrast, the league requires that teams release any hardship signings due to injury once squads tally enough healthy original players to satisfy the WNBA's 10-athlete roster minimum.

Featuring a lineup stacked with international talent, Golden State made the most transactions this week, temporarily suspending four regular contracts as 2025 EuroBasket stars departed for the annual competition.

To bolster their depleted bench, the Valkyries brought back 2025 WNBA Draft Cinderella pick Kaitlyn Chen and recent training camp participant Laeticia Amihere on short-term contracts, in addition to guard Aerial Powers and forward Chloe Bibby.

Elsewhere, after losing forward Maddy Siegrist to injury and temporarily suspending the contracts of centers Teaira McCowan and Luisa Geiselsöder, Dallas acquired center Li Yueru from Seattle — with the Wings possibly needing additional hardship signings in the coming days.

The Storm snagged two future draft picks in the Saturday deal — a second-round selection in 2026 and a third-round pick in 2027.

Ultimately, teams are striving to find a balance between stocking up and maintaining consistency, all while operating under the WNBA's roster constraints — with further league expansion fast approaching.

WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Conference Play Comes Down to the Wire

Seattle Storm forward Ezi Magbegor tries to defend a jump-shot from Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier during a 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup game.
Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx will advance to a second straight WNBA Commissioner's Cup final with a Tuesday win. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup will wrap up its conference play on Tuesday, as both Eastern and Western teams battle for a ticket to the in-season competition's championship game — and a cut of the $500,000 prize pool.

With 12 of the league's 13 teams facing off across Tuesday's WNBA courts, the results will set the stage by minting the two squads who will battle in the July 1st final showdown.

Reigning Commissioner's Cup champs Minnesota have the West's easiest path, as a win over the Las Vegas Aces will send the Lynx to a second straight final.

Should the Lynx fall to the Aces, however, Seattle can grab the Western Conference berth by beating the Los Angeles Sparks.

Meanwhile in the East, a surging Atlanta could land a trip to the final by topping New York, while the Liberty need both a win over the Dream plus a loss by the Indiana Fever to clinch their own return ticket to the Cup's grand finale.

If New York does take down Atlanta, the Fever could advance to the team's first-ever Commissioner's Cup final by beating the struggling Connecticut Sun.

How to watch Tuesday's 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup games

All of Tuesday's six WNBA games count toward the 2025 Commissioner's Cup tally.

The action begins with the Atlanta Dream tipping off against the New York Liberty while the Indiana Fever battles the Connecticut Sun at 7 PM ET, live on WNBA League Pass.

Chicago Sky Star Angel Reese Files Trademark for ‘Mebounds’ to Silence Internet Trolls

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese grabs a rebound during a 2024 WNBA game.
Chicago Sky star Angel Reese is trademarking a term often used to criticize her play. (Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese made headlines this week, with the second-year WNBA forward announcing that she has trademarked word "mebounds" — a slang term opposing fans use to describe Reese rebounding her own missed shots.

"Whoever came up with the 'mebounds' thing, y’all ate that up, because mebounds, rebounds, keybounds...anything that comes off that board, it's mine," Reese said in a TikTok video on Saturday.

"And a brand? That's six figures right there," she continued, referencing her trademark application. "The trolling — I love when y'all do it because the ideas be good!"

Currently averaging 11.9 boards per matchup, Reese is leading the WNBA in rebounds for the second straight season.

Her rookie campaign saw Reese average 13.1 boards per game, a rate that set a single-season league record. She also blasted through the WNBA's consecutive double-double record last season, claiming it with 10 straight before extending it to an impressive 15 games.

Along with the average rebounds record, Reese also broke the single-season total rebounds record previously held by retired Minnesota Lynx legend Sylvia Fowles — a mark that was later surpassed by 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson following Reese's season-ending wrist injury.

"Statistically, all the rebounds that I get aren't always just mine," Reese added in her Saturday social media post. "They're the defense's, too, or somebody else on my team."

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