OL Reign’s Megan Rapinoe knew from the second she heard former Chicago Red Stars coach Rory Dames yelling from the sideline during a game that he was not a nice person.

Everything she had heard about then-Portland Thorns coach Paul Riley and then-Sky Blue FC coach Christy Holly of Sky Blue FC made her feel the same way. Dames, Riley and Holly were the coaches at the center of Sally Yates’ report on abusive behavior and sexual misconduct in the NWSL, which was released Monday. Rapinoe was playing in her first season in the league when she heard Dames yelling that day in 2013.

While the rest of the women’s soccer world processes the findings in the report, NWSL and U.S. women’s national team veterans like Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn and Crystal Dunn have known for years about complaints their teammates have filed to team, league and federation authorities, only for those people to ignore them. Balancing soccer with emotional exhaustion is nothing new to them. They’re also used to speaking to reporters about off-field issues, which in the past has also included equal pay, LGBTQ+ rights and racial justice.

So, Rapinoe, Sauerbrunn and Dunn volunteered themselves to answer the tough questions from the media this week about how the national team is doing as they prepare for two friendlies in Europe against England and Spain. Helping protect the younger players while also showing them how they can carry the torch someday is the way the USWNT has always operated.

“As sick as this sounds, I feel like we’re used to having to take on so much more than a game plan and tactics,” Rapinoe said. “I feel like we have an incredible ability to shoulder so much … The older players can help shield and shoulder a lot, whether it’s media attention or just what we do, how do you act. It’s probably, as a younger player, like, ‘The f— is going on? Like, how do I even deal with this?’ They can always look to us, just as we can always look to our older players.”

They hope they can make enough a difference so that the young players on the current USWNT roster — including 17-year-old Alyssa Thompson and NWSL rookies Naomi Girma, Savannah DeMelo, Sam Coffey and Jaelin Howell — won’t have to address off-field issues as often as Rapinoe’s generation has.

Megan Rapinoe has called the findings of The Yates Investigation, which uncovered widespread emotional abuse and sexual misconduct in the top tier of women's football in the United States, as horrifying. pic.twitter.com/JTltbgtOUz

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 6, 2022

For the two-time World Cup champion, it’s not only about setting an example. Less experienced players need to be given the space to do their jobs and make their mark on the national team. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski has been evaluating new talent throughout the last year as he builds a 2023 World Cup roster.

On Friday, the reigning World Cup champions play a highly anticipated friendly against England, the defending Euro Cup champions, in front of a sold-out crowd at Wembley Stadium in London. Everyone has to be ready.

“We’re players, first and foremost. So I feel like that’s the first team that we play for, all of us,” Rapinoe said. “I think for us, it’s just always a matter of trying to keep the team in the best situation possible and sort of using every ounce of leadership or knowledge or whatever to just make sure that everybody can show up and do their job, and also just trying to make everyone as comfortable as possible in a time that’s really uncomfortable and we can’t really get away from that.”

Success on the field is what gives the USWNT the platform to have a voice in the first place. Growing the game both on and off the field is a responsibility that all USWNT players have borne through the years.

“It’s something that this team has always taken pride in and taken on and ensuring that we leave the game in a better place,” Rapinoe said. “I think the game is already in a better place after this report than it was the day before it came out.”

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

UConn might be the lowest seed left standing, but their championship pedigree looms largest of all, as the Huskies gear up to face No. 1 seed UCLA tonight in their quest to end a nine-year NCAA title drought.

“Before you even get here, you kind of know the pressures that exist by committing to UConn,” star guard Paige Bueckers said ahead of the Huskies’ 24th Final Four appearance. “It’s a decision you have to make even before you step on campus.”

Facing the Final Four with a healthy UConn roster

Reaching four of the last five tournament semifinals despite battling years of injury and availability concerns, UConn’s senior class is hell-bent on proving themselves once and for all on college basketball’s biggest stage.

This year’s run has benefitted greatly from backcourt duo Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, reunited in the postseason for the first time in over two years.

Freshman All-American Sarah Strong and key transfer Kaitlyn Chen round out the team's backbone.

"Sarah impacts the game in so many ways, that you just have so much confidence in her, so much belief in her," UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said of Strong. "I don't know. Can't explain it."

Paige Bueckers powers the Huskies offense

Already UConn’s third all-time leading scorer, Bueckers has been on a scoring tear en route to the Final Four, dropping 30 points in her last three outings as she gears up to enter the 2025 WNBA Draft.

“When I say unique, I think she’s closer to one or two or three of most unique players I’ve ever coached,” Auriemma said. “And I’m really going to miss her.”

This Huskies squad has navigated both long-term adversity and recent hurdles with skill and confidence. But will they be the team that gets UConn back on the trophy-winning track?

March Madness isn’t the only game in town this weekend, as Saturday’s College All-Star Game provides WNBA hopefuls one last showcase before April 14th’s draft.

Voted on by members of the media and former coaches, this year’s roster features four All-Americans — Izzy Higginbottom (Arkansas), Shyanne Sellers (Maryland), Makayla Timpson (Florida State), and Harmoni Turner (Harvard) — alongside 16 All-Conference honorees.

All-Star Game showcases WNBA-bound talent

Saturday's matchup returned to Final Four Weekend in 2024 after an 18-year hiatus. The game gives seniors no longer playing in the NCAA tournament a chance to show off their skills in front of pro scouts and a sold-out crowd.

WNBA legends Nancy Lieberman and Cheryl Miller will coach two 10-player teams on Saturday. Longtime college coach Terri Mitchell serving as Game Ambassador.

An additional nine prospects are joining in for today’s All-Star Combine. Invitees include tournament standouts Michigan’s Jordan Hobbs and NC State’s Madison Hayes.

As college basketball grows more competitive, the game plays an important role in keeping the NCAA-to-WNBA pipeline moving.

How to watch the Women's College All-Star Game at the NCAA Final Four

The College All-Star Game tips off on Saturday at 3 PM ET, live on ESPN2.

UCLA, UConn, Texas, and South Carolina have touched down in Tampa, each team laser-focused on tonight’s NCAA Final Four with a trip to Sunday’s national championship game on the line.

SEC titans Texas and South Carolina will square off for the fourth time this season, with the Longhorns looking to upset the reigning champs in their first Final Four appearance since 2003.

UCLA and UConn will later link up for the first time since 2023, with the Bruins fighting for a ticket to their first-ever championship game against a tournament-tested — but title-less — Huskies class.

Top-ranked teams square off in tonight's Final Four

Three of tonight’s teams entered the tournament as No. 1 seeds — Texas, South Carolina, and UCLA — while all four ranked among the AP’s Top 10 throughout the regular season.

“Not only is every team different in terms of their talent base and strengths and weaknesses, but their makeup internally is different,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said on Thursday.

“Whoever gets through this semifinal and final will have done it against the best of the best,” said Texas head coach Vic Schaefer. “We all understand it. It’s hard to do.”

"It’s going to come down to heart, effort, and controlling the things that we can control, which is attitude and effort,” echoed South Carolina senior Te-Hina PaoPao.

After a year of unparalleled parity at the top, there can still only be one winner — and whoever cuts the nets down on Sunday will surely be worthy.

How to watch the Women's Final Four and NCAA Championship this weekend

The Final Four tips off tonight at 7 PM ET on ESPN, with Sunday’s NCAA championship game starting at 3 PM ET on ABC.

Welcome to another episode of Sports Are Fun! presented by TurboTax.

Every week on Sports Are Fun!, co-hosts soccer legend Kelley O'Hara, sports journalist Greydy Diaz, retired NWSL great Merritt Mathias, and JWS intern BJ serve up their hottest takes on the biggest women's sports headlines.

This week, Just Women’s Sports brought Sports Are Fun! to Tampa for a live recording ahead of the NCCA Final Four.

Taped in front of a live audience, O’Hara and the crew were joined by some extra special guests. Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie, WNBA stars Aaliyah Edwards and Kelsey Mitchell, and UCLA standout Gabriela Jaquez all showed up to talk through the biggest weekend in college basketball.

'Sports Are Fun!' guests give their takes on the NCAA Final Four

Lisa Leslie on why UConn star Paige Bueckers doesn’t need a championship to secure her legacy

• “There's a whole career beyond college… She’s about to be the No. 1 draft pick in the WNBA. Now, if she gets there and she doesn't have a stellar career in the W, then maybe we don't talk about her anymore. But I don't really see that happening.”

Aaliyah Edwards on what UConn needs to do to stop UCLA in the Final Four

• “The first thing is, we just need to set the tone, play our game, focus on us. Because we've been doing great things. Second thing would be to limit the touches inside… And the third thing, which is like a UConn motto, is just play hard, play smart, and have fun.”
• “Obviously respect to UCLA, but I think we got it in the bag.”

Kelsey Mitchell on NIL pressure and Olivia Miles entering the NCAA transfer portal

• “I grew to respect people like Caitlin [Clark] because she handled it so gracefully… With Olivia, I'm sure whatever she decides to do, I'm going to say it was for her and what she needed for her career. But I hope consciously that they make decisions based on what they need for themselves.”
• “Not all money is good money. Hopefully whatever she decides to do is for her and she goes where she’s loved and where she’s celebrated, not tolerated.”

Gabriela Jaquez on how UCLA is preparing for their Final Four matchup against UConn

• “We're feeling great. We're feeling very confident, excited. I think coming here in the Final Four, it's such an extravagant experience, and I'm so thankful for it and these opportunities. But yeah, we all are here to play basketball and win games, and we're excited and we're really confident.”

About 'Sports Are Fun!' with Kelley O'Hara

'Sports Are Fun!' is a show that’ll remind you why you fell in love with women's sports in the first place.

Join World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and aspiring barista Kelley O'Hara as she sits down with sports journalist Greydy Diaz and a revolving cast of co-hosts and friends. Together, they're talking the biggest, funnest, and most need-to-know stories in the world of women’s sports.

From on-court drama to off-field shenanigans, to candid (and silly) chats with the most important personalities in the space, this show screams "Sports Are Fun!"

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