Jaelene Daniels and the North Carolina Courage have parted ways again after the club declined a team option on her contract for the 2023 season.

The defender retired from the NWSL in 2020 but returned to the league last December when she re-signed with the Courage. Daniels’ return immediately sparked backlash, as she had refused a call-up to the U.S. women’s national team in 2017 because she did not want to wear a rainbow-themed LGBTQ+ Pride jersey.

She reached out to Courage teammates and fans with a statement after her signing, saying, “My beliefs may call me to live differently, but my love runs deep for all.”

Courage owner Steve Malik defended Daniels’ signing in a statement. While the decision “sparked a lot of discussion internally, and with a cross section of fans,” the club felt she had made a “positive impact” on their “successful history,” Malik said.

[ROSTER MOVE]: The Courage have declined a team option on defender Jaelene Daniels for the 2023 season, making her an unrestricted free agent.

The club wishes Jaelene the best in her future endeavors. pic.twitter.com/wn9h5AD4NZ

— NC Courage (@TheNCCourage) October 17, 2022

Daniels, 29, started her NWSL career in 2015 with the Western New York Flash, the franchise that became the Courage in 2017. A two-time NWSL champion with the franchise in 2016 and in 2018, she announced her retirement in November 2020.

After the 2019 World Cup, her former USWNT teammate Ashlyn Harris — who is married to Ali Krieger, another of Daniels’ former USWNT teammates — slammed Daniels for her stance on the LGBTQ+ community, calling her intolerant and “homophobic.”

“You don’t belong in a sport that aims to unite and bring people together,” Harris said. “You would never fit into our pack or what this team stands for. Don’t you dare say our team is ‘not a welcoming place for Christians.’ You weren’t around long enough to know what this team stood for. This is actually an insult to the Christians on our team.”

When Daniels returned to North Carolina ahead of the 2022 season, she did so at a time of turmoil for the franchise. Paul Riley, who had coached the Flash and then the Courage from 2016-21, was fired after the 2021 season when sexual misconduct allegations against him were made public in The Athletic.

During the 2022 season, Daniels again refused to wear a Pride jersey. The team left her off the roster for a July home match that served as the Courage’s Pride night.

“Jaelene will not be rostered tonight as she has made the decision to not wear our Pride jersey. While we’re disappointed with her choice, we respect her right to make that decision for herself,” Nikki Stoudt, North Carolina’s communications manager, said in a statement.

Courage forward Merritt Mathias issued a statement in May saying she recognized the pain that re-signing Daniels, among other decisions by the club, caused LGBTQ+ fans in particular, and that she sympathizes “as a player who is part of the community.”

“There is a group here that truly, truly loves and supports and is here for the LGBTQ community,” Mathias said.

Despite a few shocking upsets in the early rounds of the 2025 NCAA soccer tournament, the ACC has retained its status as the conference to beat, with the powerhouse sending three teams to this season's College Cup semifinals on Friday.

With two tickets to Monday's national championship match on the line, four-time title-winners and No. 3-seed Florida State will take on College Cup debutants TCU in Friday's first semi, with the No. 2 Horned Frogs booking their semifinals spot by ousting fellow SEC standout No. 1 Vanderbilt 2-1 last Saturday.

The nightcap, on the other hand, will be an all-ACC affair, as No. 2 Duke continues their hunt for a first-ever national title against the tournament's overall No. 1 seed, Stanford.

The three-time NCAA champ Cardinal has been unstoppable, outscoring their opponents 21-5 across the tournament's first four rounds to set up a season-first matchup with the Blue Devils.

The 2025 College Cup will take place for the first time at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, home of the NWSL's Kansas City Current.

How to watch the 2025 College Cup semifinals

Friday's 2025 College Cup semifinals will begin with No. 2 TCU vs. No. 3 Florida State at 6 PM ET, with No. 1 Stanford's clash against No. 2 Duke kicking off at 8:45 PM ET.

Both semifinals — plus Monday's 7PM ET championship match — will air live on ESPNU.

Playa Society is honoring the 25th anniversary of the classic sports film "Love & Basketball" this week, with the popular women's basketball outfitter dropping a capsule collection entitled "First Quarter: Ball Better Than You" — an homage to one of the film's iconic quotes.

"This is a love story, about our love for 'Love & Basketball,'" notes Playa Society about the collection. "Our love for [lead character] Monica, who served as the first representation of an unapologetic female athlete in film. Our love for [writer and director] Gina Prince-Bythewood for her persistence in delivering culture and truth. And our love for the energy of it all that inspired Playa Society to fill in the gaps for women in sports."

"I am so humbled by the enduring impact of the film on both ballers and non-athletes, who are inspired by characters who believe in themselves enough to fight for an impossible dream," Prince-Bythewood said of the project.

With New York Liberty teammates and girlfriends Natasha Cloud and Izzy Harrison serving as models, the "First Quarter" collection includes T-shirts, hoodies, and more.

This week's drop is just the first in the works between Prince-Bythewood and Playa Society founder Esther Wallace, with the LA Sentinel describing their collaboration as "blending nostalgia, culture, and women's sports in a way that honors the film while pushing the narrative forward."

How to purchase from Playa Society's "Love & Basketball" collection

All items from the "First Quarter" collection are now available in limited quantities at PlayaSociety.com.

The inaugural North American iteration of World Sevens Football (W7F) kicks off in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, when eight standout clubs will battle for three days for the the largest share of the 7v7 competition's $5 million prize pool.

All eight clubs boast championship backgrounds, including the reigning NWSL Shield-winning Kansas City Current, 2023 NWSL Shield-winners San Diego Wave, Liga MX Femenil Apertura winner Tigres UANL, current Northern Super League Shield-winner AFC Toronto, and more.

This weekend's edition is the second-ever W7F tournament, after the new venture launched with a Europe-centric competition in Portugal last May, crowning Bayern Munich as its debut champions.

In W7F, the 11v11 clubs instead field seven players per side on a pitch half the size of a regulation field, with matches comprised of two 15-minute halves along with smaller goals, no offside rule, and rolling substitutions throughout the games.

All eight clubs will compete in the group stage on Friday and Saturday, with the top four teams advancing to Sunday's knockout rounds.

How to watch this weekend's W7F tournament

The North American debut of W7F kicks off when the NWSL's Kansas City Current faces Brazilian powerhouse Clube de Regatas do Flamengo at 5 PM ET on Friday.

All games, including Sunday's 4:30 PM ET championship match, will air live on HBO Max as well we either TNT or truTV.

The SEC displayed its basketball dominance on Thursday's courts, as the conference won all four of the 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge Day 2 matchups to feature at least one Top-25 team.

No. 2 Texas handled No. 11 North Carolina 79-64 while No. 3 South Carolina and No. 13 Ole Miss survived nail-biters against No. 22 Louisville and No. 18 Notre Dame, respectively.

"I thought [our players] got out and made big plays for themselves in the fourth and building the five-point lead," said South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley. "It was a turning point for us, whether we were going to succumb to losing the game or fight to get back in it."

No one had a better night than No. 5 LSU, however, as the Tigers faced their season's first Power Four opponent to a 93-77 result over unranked Duke, erasing a 14-point deficit behind six double-digit LSU scorers — led by 18 points from star guard Flau'jae Johnson.

"We scored 93 tonight, and look how poor we played in the first quarter. We were behind. Scoring the ball is not going to be a problem," said Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey. "Our problem is we have to just continue to get better on the defensive end and take care of the ball."

Across the 16 total 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge games, the SEC took 13 victories, with only unranked Syracuse, Virginia Tech, and SMU earning ACC wins — over Auburn, Florida, and Arkansas, respectively — this week.

How to watch Top-25 NCAA basketball this weekend

This weekend's NCAA docket sees the nonconference schedule cool down, with No. 16 USC hosting No. 21 Washington in the only ranked battle.

The Trojans and Huskies will tip off in LA at 8 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on the Big Ten Network.