Chelsea FC star Sam Kerr was found not guilty of racially harassing a London police officer on Tuesday. A Kingston Crown Court jury acquitted the striker of all charges after four hours of deliberation.
The 31-year-old Australia national was tried for allegedly causing "racially aggravated harassment, alarm, or distress" to PC Stephen Lovell. The allegations followed a heated January 2023 dispute between a local taxi driver and Kerr and her fiancée, USWNT star Kristie Mewis.
Kerr, who identifies as Anglo-Indian, did not deny calling the officer "stupid and white." Instead, she argued that the police treated her differently due to her skin color. Kerr called her words a "poorly" expressed comment on the officer's "power and privilege."
After the verdict, Kerr released her own statement on social media. "I can finally put this challenging period behind me," she wrote.
"While I apologise for expressing myself poorly on what was a traumatic evening, I have always maintained that I did not intend to insult or harm anyone and I am thankful that the jury unanimously agreed."
"I would like to thank my partner Kristie, my family, friends and all the fans for their love and support, especially those who attended court each day."
Kerr looks ahead with harassment trial now in the rearview
Kerr spent the last year recovering from a January 2024 ACL tear. However, she recently re-signed with the London club after originally joining the WSL frontrunners in 2019.
The prolific goalscorer is on track to return to the pitch for both club and country in approximately two months. While this leaves her out of selection for the upcoming 2025 SheBelieves Cup, Kerr could rejoin in time for Australia's April friendlies against South Korea.
This morning, The Athletic reported that Kerr left the proceedings surrounded by family. As she exited, she flashed a "friendly smile" and told the court officer she "hoped to never see them again."
Chelsea FC star Sam Kerr is taking the stand this week, as her trial for allegedly verbally abusing a white London police officer got underway on Monday.
The Australia national team captain pleaded not guilty to one count of racially aggravated harassment before testifying on Wednesday.
While the celebrated striker did not deny calling PC Stephen Lovell "stupid and white" as documented by the officer's body camera, Kerr's legal team is arguing that both the specific incident and "the law is a little more nuanced, a little more human than that."

Kerr describes "terrifying" cab ride at trial
The incident in question occurred in January 2023, when Kerr and her fiancée, USWNT and West Ham midfielder Kristie Mewis, experienced a concerning late-night taxi ride.
Kerr testified that she leaned out of an open window after beginning to feel sick during the the ride. She alleges that the driver then rolled up the window and proceeded to "drive dangerously," including "swerving in and out of lanes."
The erratic driving allegedly lasted 15 to 20 minutes. Kerr also told the jury that the driver refused to stop or unlock the doors and windows.
"I was terrified for my life," the 31-year-old testified. "We were not in control... I deemed him to be dangerous because of the driving but also because he could have taken us anywhere. He couldn’t be tracked so no one knew where we were."
Mewis eventually "kicked out [the window] with her boot" in an attempt to escape what they thought was a kidnapping. As a result, the driver delivered the pair to the police station.

Perceived lack of help sparked comment from Kerr
At the police station, the couple told officers about their experience. Kerr says she felt that the police did not believe them, prompting the heated exchange.
"The words were a comment, we say — however poorly expressed — about positions of power, about privilege and about how those things might color perception," Kerr's lawyer Grace Forbes argued.
"I expressed myself poorly in that moment. What I was trying to get across was I felt that they were treating me differently and not believing me and treating me as a person that had done something wrong," Kerr elaborated.
"They were in a position of privilege and power. I believed they were treating me specifically differently because of the color of my skin."
Notably, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) originally decided not to charge Kerr. They had determined that the only outcome of a prosecution would be a simply apology from the soccer star.
While PC Lovell's initial statement made no mention of Kerr's comments having any impact on him, he submitted a second statement in the wake of CPS's decision to not prosecute, later claiming the footballer's words had been harassing.
CPS authorized the charge in December 2023, nearly a year after the incident occurred.
With their first NWSL win since July 5th, Portland ended Orlando's record 24-match unbeaten streak on Friday.
Thorns forward Morgan Weaver’s 13th-minute opening goal marked the first time the Pride trailed in a game since March 22nd.
Portland captain Christine Sinclair notched her 78th goal across all NWSL competitions to secure the 2-0 finish. The soon-to-retire legend's 55th-minute strike puts her just behind league-leader Lynn Williams, who scored her 80th goal in Gotham's 2-0 win over Chicago on Saturday.
The Pride, who secured the 2024 NWSL Shield earlier this month, notably did not start their three leading scorers: Barbra Banda, Marta, and Adriana. All entered in Friday's second half to face a Thorns side still missing top scorer Sophia Smith due to ankle injury.
Seventh-place Portland will look to clinch their postseason spot in the NWSL season's final two matchdays, a fact cheekily pointed out by Marta after the Thorns's victory.
Chawinga bags NWSL scoring record
With her season's 19th goal in Saturday's 1-0 win over Bay FC, Kansas City striker Temwa Chawinga surpassed former Chicago Red Star Sam Kerr's 2019 scoring tally to etch her name into the NWSL record books. Like Kerr, none of the Malawian's goals in her record-setting run have come from penalties.
"[The single-season scoring record] means a lot to me because it’s a very difficult league… So I thank my teammates and I thank God for giving me this chance to be here," Chawinga said after the game.
“We know teams now are trying to close her down and close the space down in the area where she gets most of her chances,” KC boss Vlatko Andonovski told reporters after the match. “She ran out and hit a bomb.”
The all-but-guaranteed 2024 NWSL Golden Boot winner now boasts six more goals than the league's second-leading scorer, the Pride's aforementioned Banda.
The weekend's results also saw the fourth-place Current earn a first-ever home playoff match alongside second-place Washington and third-place Gotham, while sixth-place Chicago officially secured their postseason berth.

Lacasse hat trick sees Seattle eliminated from playoffs
Utah forward Cloé Lacasse's Sunday hat trick didn’t just lift the Royals 3-0 over the Seattle Reign, it also made NWSL history.
The Canadian national opened scoring off of a third-minute corner kick, tying Utah's record for the fastest goal before firing off two more before halftime.
The feat marked the first hat trick of the 2024 NWSL season as well as the first in Utah Royals history, with Lacasse joining Crystal Dunn as the only other NWSL player to ever book three first-half goals.
Now on a three-game winning streak, the victory keeps 10th-place Utah in the postseason hunt, while also eliminating Seattle from playoff contention.
With three regular-season matches left, the still-undefeated Orlando Pride clinched the 2024 NWSL Shield with Sunday's rainy 2-0 win over the second-place Washington Spirit.
Marta converted the 57th-minute game-winning penalty kick, securing her team's first-ever piece of hardware with her eighth goal of the season.
"I stayed here because I want to make history with this team," the Brazilian soccer icon, who's been with the Pride for eight years, said afterwards. "And then we did tonight, and then we go for more."
Though the Pride's dominance this season is unmatched, Washington was notably without several key players. Between injuries and yellow card suspensions, the Spirit faced Orlando without Trinity Rodman, Casey Krueger, Hal Hershfelt, Leicy Santos, or Ouleye Sarr.

Chawinga ties Kerr's NWSL scoring record
It took less than two minutes for Kansas City's Temwa Chawinga to find the back of the net in Saturday's 2-0 win over Louisville, tying former Chicago Red Star Sam Kerr's single-season NWSL scoring record with her 18th goal.
With three matchdays to go, the Malawian striker is all but guaranteed to upend Kerr's 2019 record.
"I think that Temwa's ability to get behind the line and then drive towards the goal, and being aggressive going towards the goal, is something that differentiates her," KC head coach Vlatko Andonovski said after the match. "Temwa's just a pure goalscorer. We're happy that she's done it for us this season and hopefully she continues to do it."
Other noteworthy NWSL results
In other NWSL news, fifth-place North Carolina punched their postseason ticket with Saturday's 2-1 win over San Diego. The day before, last-place Houston become the first club eliminated from the 2024 playoff picture.
Gotham’s 5-1 Saturday blowout of Bay has the defending NWSL champs achingly close to leaping second-place Washington on the table. The two clubs are tied for points, with the Spirit's shrinking goal differential giving them the tenuous edge.
On the other hand, Saturday's 2-1 loss to 12th-place Utah extended Portland's NWSL winless streak to seven matches. The Thorns are remarkably still in seventh-place, but sit tied for points with eighth-place Bay FC. With lower-table teams hungry to rise above the postseason cutoff line, every match left could see Portland fall from contention.
KC Current forward Temwa Chawinga notched her 17th regular-season goal in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Gotham, closing in on former Chicago Red Star Sam Kerr's single-season NWSL scoring record.
After scoring off a corner kick via a dynamic run and a touch around the keeper on Saturday, Chawinga needs just one more goal to tie Kerr's 2019 record.
Chawinga is already running away with the NWSL Golden Boot race. With four matches left in the 2024 regular season, the Malawi National Team captain has a four-goal lead over Orlando forward Barbra Banda.
Notably, Kansas City had a little help from the stands on Saturday, when a fan headed Current forward Michelle Cooper's overshot ball back inbounds with impeccable form.

Portland extends regular-season NWSL winless streak
The Thorns's struggles continued this weekend. Portland hasn't won a regular-season game since July 5th, and they extended that streak with Saturday's tepid 2-0 loss to the 10th-place San Diego Wave. The loss marked their second to San Diego in under two weeks, as the Thorns fell to the Wave in Concacaf W Champions Cup play earlier this month.
The 2022 NWSL champs, who've struggled to create and capitalize on offense, have been without USWNT star Sophia Smith for the last two matches as the forward deals with an ankle injury.
Following the permanent hiring of manager Rob Gale, Portland sits seventh in the NWSL standings and are currently tied for points with eighth-place Bay FC. With just four regular-season games left, the continuation of the Thorns's winless streak could mean a 2024 postseason without the usually dominant club.
With 13th-place Utah next on their NWSL schedule, Portland will take aim at their first three-point finish in three months on Saturday.
The 2024/25 Barclays Women's Super League (WSL) season kicks off this weekend in the UK, where 12 teams will launch campaigns to challenge seven-time league champions Chelsea for the season's title.
Adding to the excitement are major roster shakeups and big name signings entering the pitch for the WSL's 14th season.

Defending WSL champs Chelsea open post-Hayes era with a win
In front of a sold-out Kingsmeadow crowd on Friday, the Blues began their first campaign without now-USWNT boss Emma Hayes by defeating Aston Villa 1-0. Midfielder Johanna Rytting Kaneryd's first-half strike from distance secured Chelsea's season-opening win.
Helmed by head coach Sonia Bompastor, who previously led France's Lyon to three straight titles and a 2022 Champions League victory, Chelsea enters the season with a target on their backs after five straight years at the top of the WSL table.
With five members of the Blues staff following Hayes Stateside and multiple veteran players — like England national Fran Kirby — also departing the club, Bompastor is now tasked with building a new-look culture while maintaining the club's standard. Her job is that much more difficult given four athletes, including Australian star Sam Kerr and the USWNT's Mia Fishel, are still out rehabbing ACL injuries.
Though Chelsea added top players like the Lionesses' right-back Lucy Bronze, all eyes will be on the Blues to see if their dynasty continues this season.

Miedema's return headlines WSL opening weekend
The Blues aside, the highlight of the WSL's season-opening weekend is the blockbuster matchup between an Arsenal legend and her former club.
Dutch striker Vivianne Miedema will play her first regular-season WSL game with Manchester City on Sunday, when the ex-Gunner will face Arsenal in a highly anticipated Emirates Stadium showdown.
The two clubs — who both finished the 2023/34 WSL season just behind Chelsea in the standings — are coming off vastly different UWCL results this week, after Arsenal lost 1-0 to Häcken and Man City defeated Paris FC 5-0.
How to watch Arsenal Women vs. Manchester City this weekend
Arsenal WFC will take on Manchester City at 7:30 AM ET this Sunday, with live coverage on ESPN+.
The Barclays Women’s Super League officially kicks off its 2024-25 run the weekend of September 20th with six matchups across three days setting the stage for the much-anticipated WSL season.
The WSL is growing in more ways than one, and next year’s league title is very much anyone’s to grab.

Growing attendance spurs Arsenal move to Emirates
After drawing an average of 52,000 fans to each of their six Emirates-hosted games last season — including two complete sell-outs and three WSL attendance records — all 11 of Arsenal’s upcoming home matches will be played at Emirates Stadium. This makes the North London behemoth — home to Arsenal’s men’s Premier League team — the women’s team’s permanent 2024–25 season home.
Of the league’s 12 teams, only Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Leicester City will share gameday facilities with a top flight men’s division. The rest will play the majority of their matches at practice fields or smaller multi-use stadiums.
In addition to field conditions, access to training centers and equipment, and other on-pitch concerns, capacity is a central differentiating factor between men’s and women’s grounds. For example, Chelsea’s primary home of Kingsmeadow seats just 4,850 fans. Their Premier League counterpart's digs, Stamford Bridge — the 11th largest football stadium in all of England — can accommodate 40,343.
Arsenal’s move to Emirates was motivated in part by this divide, and after finishing the 2023-24 season in third place — nearly missing the cutoff for UEFA Champions League eligibility — the club is hoping this momentum will fuel their quest to lift the WSL trophy in 2025.

Offseason moves shake up WSL rosters
Arsenal isn’t the only WSL team on a mission to top the 2024-25 table, and teams around the league made serious waves in the offseason in a bid for this season's title.
Manchester City, 2024’s second-place club, bid adieu to Esme Morgan and Ellie Roebuck, but the club added a whole slate of stong footballers, highlighted by star striker Vivianne Miedema. Former West Ham full-back Risa Shimizu and Japan international Ayaka Yamashita are also joining a Blues roster that already boasts superstars like Khadija "Bunny" Shaw and Mary Fowler, among others.
As if losing Sam Kerr to an ACL tear last season wasn't enough, 2023-24 champs Chelsea have since seen Fran Kirby depart for Brighton, and defender Jess Carter and goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger flip to the NWSL’s Gotham FC. On the bright side, they snagged England mainstay Lucy Bronze from Barcelona, and Kerr should return to play this fall.
In Manchester United news, the Red Devils picked up Dutch defender Dominique Janssen but bid farewell to 2023 World Cup Golden Glove winner Mary Earps, who joined Paris Saint-Germain. Meanwhile, former captain Katie Zelem signed with ACFC this week.
Sam Kerr has signed a new two-year contract with Chelsea.
The Australian forward teased fans in the announcement, after speculation regarding her future with the club had been swirling for months — particularly with the departure of head coach Emma Hayes.
In a video posted Thursday morning, Kerr thanked fans for the memories before saying she will "always be Chelsea" in a tone that suggested she was leaving the London club. But 20 minutes later, the team took to social media to announce the striker had actually signed a new two-year deal.
"Did you guys really think I was gonna end on 99 goals?" asked Kerr in a followup video.
BBC Sport reported that the contract extension fake-out was Kerr’s idea.
"It’s really exciting and a very proud moment for me," Kerr said in a statement. "Having the opportunity to stay at a club like Chelsea means a lot to me. I’m really excited to continue to push and to try to win trophies."
The 30-year-old is currently recovering from an ACL tear sustained in January. The injury will keep her out of the Paris Olympics.
Australia has confirmed that captain and star striker Sam Kerr will miss the Paris Olympics due to an ACL injury suffered early this year.
Kerr, who also stars for Chelsea, tore her ACL in January. While unlikely that she would recover in time for the Olympics, Football Australia (FA) hadn’t confirmed her status until Tuesday when the team revealed its squad for upcoming warm-up games.
In a statement, the FA said that Kerr remained on the sidelines and will continue her rehab program at Chelsea.
"Attacker Amy Sayer (ACL) and forward Sam Kerr (ACL) remain on the sidelines with long term injuries," the report read. "Kerr and Sayer will continue their rehabilitation programmes in their home club environments and subsequently will not be available for selection for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games."
Tuesdays 23-player squad is a "strong guide" to the final Olympic lineup, according to coach Tony Gustavsson, but others like injured midfielders Katrina Gorry and Aivi Luik could potentially figure into the conversation.
"[They] most likely will be physically available to be part of an Olympic roster," Gustavsson said of Gorry and Luik. "This window will be a tough one for me and my staff in terms of evaluating players, where they are, and then the final selection process for Paris."
Gotham FC's Lynn Williams etched her name into the NWSL history books on Sunday, becoming the all-time leading goalscorer across all NWSL competitions.
Coming in the 57th minute of Gotham's 2-1 win over Chicago, Williams's 79th goal breaks a tie with Sam Kerr for the league record. The header was her ninth-career headed goal, and her first since 2021.
"I don’t get the goals without my teammates. I have played with so many incredible people over the 10 years," Williams said after the game. "At the end of the day, I think I just owe it all to the people that are around me — all my teammates, all my family members. I just owe it all to them, and I can’t put any single one of those goals away without them."
Kerr still holds the regular season record, with 77 of her 78 goals having come in the regular season. Williams sits in second place with 66 regular season goals scored, having long been the top-scoring American in the NWSL.
The USWNT regular has won four championships with the WNY Flash, North Carolina Courage, and reigning champions Gotham FC.
"Her commitment to make sure the team wins, even the last kick of the game is her kicking out of the box, no? She has that commitment, that passion, and that quality to be scoring goals in key moments for us, for the US, for whatever team she’s playing (for)," Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said on Sunday. "She’s wearing the armband. Having people like her in this club is what we want."
"I’m just really proud of myself. I think that I have exceeded a lot of people’s expectations," Williams added. "For a very long time, I have believed in myself, and a lot of moments along the way I’ve been told, 'No, you’re not good enough.' And I think that every single time I score a goal, every single time I’m put on the field, it’s another moment for me to continue to believe in myself."
The striker even got a shoutout from one of the greatest of all time: Serena Williams.
"Congrats cuz," she tweeted after the Gotham victory.