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‘We will build a better league’: NWSL’s CBA talks take on new sense of urgency

Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit link arms at the sixth minute of their game on Oct. 6. (Jesse Louie/Just Women’s Sports)

When the NWSL Players Association decided to resume games on Oct. 6, less than a week after The Athletic’s report on former North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley changed the league forever, players knew it couldn’t be just another game day.

“We started from that premise, just this feeling that this is not business as usual. We need to acknowledge what’s happening in this moment,” PA Executive Director Meghann Burke tells Just Women’s Sports.

The players’ collective demonstration — interlocking arms in the center circle for a moment of silence in the sixth minute of every game — was powerful in both its simplicity and its pointedness. The sixth minute signified the six years it took for Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly’s stories of sexual coercion and emotional abuse to be told. But before the players showed their support on the field, the concept went through a number of iterations in a series of league-wide conversations.

Players had different ideas about what felt appropriate, ranging from the length of the demonstration to the act of solidarity itself. Finding a solution that worked for every player meant going beyond a simple majority.

“In a labor union, typically it’s majority rules. It’s a mini-democracy: Take a vote and you sort of go with what the majority wants to do,” Burke says.

But in a group of players with many different backgrounds, they knew they needed to be mindful of every person’s story, even the ones they weren’t aware of.

“When we thought about how it felt for one person or one team or one group, it didn’t feel right because it was too painful or too hard,” Burke says. “And so we immediately pivoted and evolved the conversation … [The demonstration] needed to be something that would feel healing and restorative and powerful, and the intention was not to cause more pain.”

The PA has taken what it calls a “trauma-informed” approach, making sure players feel supported as they close out the regular season this weekend and move into the postseason.

They’ve made a sports psychologist available to all players (some clubs have also provided their own). And they are pushing on the league to carry out investigations into past behavior, establish hiring protocols that vet candidates and work together to ratify the league’s first collective bargaining agreement, all with the intention of creating an environment where this sort of pain can never be inflicted again.

“One of the things that keeps me up at night is we’ll probably never know the full extent and scope of the damage that’s been done,” Burke says. “And so I think all of us have an obligation to be providing as many resources, not just to players but to youth soccer players, to parents, to coaches.

“This is the kind of thing that should rock not just our league, but our sport.”

Burke and the PA have the nearly impossible task of processing the intense emotions the Riley story evoked and pushing forward to reform the structures that enabled his behavior and that of other NWSL leaders found in violation of the league’s anti-harassment policy. To Burke, though, there is reason for cautious optimism about what happens next.

“I don’t think that the pain and anger that players have felt has subsided. I think this is too big of an issue for a few weeks to change that,” she says. “But I will say that our players and the Players Association is feeling very determined. We are bullish on the future of NWSL, but it’s got to be a league that is rebuilt around players, by players and for players.”

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NWSLPA president Tori Huster has been actively leading the players' efforts while competing with the Spirit. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Last week, the NWSL announced Marla Messing as its new interim CEO. She and club representatives have been present for the most recent round of CBA negotiations. Burke senses a new level of urgency in what she calls “a change of the guard,” when prior to the stories of abuse coming out, NWSL owners were inexplicably absent from CBA meetings.

“We now have clubs themselves at the bargaining table, which makes a huge difference,” Burke says. “I think they are coming to understand that some time has been lost, and there needs to be a significant uptick in the pace that this negotiation is moving. I do believe that they are working very hard to make up for that lost time.”

Burke knows that setting standards for player wages and rights through the CBA will be essential to creating more equitable power dynamics. She also recognizes that the league needs to make substantial changes to its hiring practices at every level, so that situations like Riley’s and Richie Burke’s with the Washington Spirit don’t happen again. That includes stricter policies and a commitment to transparency.

“It’s clear that the recent hiring practices and systems have failed players, and it has put people in harm’s way. And that’s something that requires an urgent and immediate response. It can’t wait for a CBA to be negotiated and resolved,” Burke says.

“There is a lot of anger, and there’s a lot of hurt, but there are also a lot of unanswered questions. That’s why the investigation is so important, because we need to understand who knew what and who knew what when, and why this was allowed to happen.”

Messing said the league had agreed “in principle” to the PA’s demands of a league-wide investigation that answers directly to the players. Burke confirmed Messing’s statement, though she says they still need to work out some details. Messing added that she wants the input of the PA and the Black Women’s Player Collective in decision-making, including the naming of a commissioner.

The investigations into league and club conduct will take time, as will the understanding of what past investigations have found. The process requires a level of transparency the NWSL hasn’t adopted until now.

“I have no idea what Portland’s investigation found in 2015. I’ve never seen it. I’ve never seen the results of the investigation of the Sarah Gorden situation in Houston earlier this year,” Burke says. “I’ve never seen source materials, witness interviews, things of that nature that will help us understand what went wrong.”

The PA is committed to approaching the results of the league investigation with an open mind and wants to stick to the facts of each case as much as possible. Beyond that, accountability comes with consequences. The presence of new faces in the league office, at least, has helped push other important conversations forward.

“I think that the people who have come to the bargaining table themselves are committed to finding solutions. I have no reason to think that they themselves have contributed to some of the bad acts that we’ve learned about,” Burke says. “The question is whether they’ll be able to pull the rest of the league along with them.”

While the PA focuses on formally addressing the systems that have allowed abuse to perpetrate women’s soccer, the players are proving their resiliency and influence in their own way.

The Black Women’s Player Collective launched a new website this month with presenting partner Adidas and has continued to push for the creation of 12 mini-pitches across the country by the end of 2021, most recently holding a clinic in Louisville. While closing out the NWSL season, they’re organizing their thoughts as a collective so that, when they do speak with the league, they’re ready.

“I think we’ve realized that the league is a bit out of sorts right now, so pushing from our side is one thing that we want to do,” Washington Spirit defender Tegan McGrady told local reporters after the team’s Oct. 13 match. “But [the BWPC] also know that we want to make sure that we have everything that we need so that when we do go to them, we are collective as one, and we can make sure that we’re asking for everything that we want at once.”

After the same match, Spirit midfielder and PA President Tori Huster emphasized that solidarity has been key to communication. “I don’t think checking in with players across the league is hard,” she said. “I think one of the things throughout this entire thing that is a positive is that we’ve been really collective in our efforts, and that only is possible because we’ve been communicating so frequently.”

McGrady noted that Huster had been on the phone non-stop as games resumed, which Huster admitted hasn’t been easy.

“​​I’m not sure that I could have ever imagined something like this in my career before. It is hard,” Huster said. “Even with our #NoMoreSideHustles campaign, we are able to multitask. A lot of us have other jobs. But I think if you factor in some of this — just the processing, the fact that this is super draining for us, and we’re expected to go out on the field and perform at a high level, at a professional soccer level — I don’t think we should have to do that, but we are doing it.”

Players across the league have said how grateful they are for the PA’s advocacy. For Burke, the feeling is mutual.

“Our teams are just extraordinary people. They’re smart, they’re compassionate, they’re deep,” she says. “We represent a diverse group of people. And what you’re finding is that our players are committed to supporting one another and allowing each other space to feel differently and to move through this differently, but to ultimately stand together, speaking out against this horrible thing that has been allowed to happen that can never happen again.”

Each side has moved quickly to commit to systematic change. What comes next, however, might more so resemble the rebuilding of a soccer league in a new and better image.

Burke was a player when the Women’s United Soccer Association and Women’s Professional Soccer folded in succession, in the years before the NWSL emerged as the longest-running women’s professional league in the U.S. Her faith in the NWSL’s future comes not only from the players but also from the feeling that, this time, there are too many invested fans and sponsors sticking by them for it to fail.

“What I would say to fans is: Yes, please buy season tickets, please come to games, please show that you’re going to demand a league that is rebuilt by, for, and around players. And you’re not going to be silent, and you’re not going to run away, because that’s the easiest way for these systems to become re-entrenched,” she says.

“I mean this sincerely with every fiber in my being that we can build a better league, and we will build a better league. And it’s because players are demanding it, but it’s also because fans and sponsors have our backs.”

Claire Watkins is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering soccer and the NWSL. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

Mallory Swanson returns to Chicago’s starting lineup in season opener

(Isaac Hale-USA TODAY Sports)

Mallory Swanson made her NWSL return on Saturday, after having missed the majority of last season with a knee injury. 

It was her first game with the Red Stars in 349 days, after she tore her patella tendon playing with the USWNT last April. She made her return to the USWNT earlier this year, coming in as a training camp player ahead of the Concacaf W Gold Cup. Interim head coach Twila Kilgore said that Swanson looked “phenomenal” in training. 

On Saturday, Swanson got to showcase just how far she’s come in her recovery, being named to the Red Stars’ starting lineup. 

Chicago got the 2-0 road win over Utah, and perhaps more importantly, Swanson looked like she hadn’t missed a beat. She wound up playing 80 minutes, which included two shots (one on target), passing accuracy of 81%, four crosses, four possession wins and two clearances. 

All in a day's work for the USWNT and Chicago striker.

Lorne Donaldson, who coached Swanson during her time with youth club team Real Colorado, took over as the Red Stars coach in the offseason. 

‘‘I haven’t seen the toughness in any player that I have seen in Mal,’’ Donaldson told the Chicago Sun-Times  ahead of the match. 

The fact that Swanson played 80 minutes means that she could be back to a full 90 sooner rather than later, which itself could lead to a full USWNT call-up and cap.

OL Groupe completes sale of Seattle Reign

(Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports)

The Seattle Reign have officially been sold, with OL Groupe announcing on Monday the team has signed an agreement with a group that includes the Seattle Sounders ownership group.

The transaction still needs to be approved by the NWSL and MLS Board of Governors. Global investment firm Carlyle joins the Sounders ownership group in the purchasing of the club.

OL Groupe’s entire stake in the club will be sold, which amounts to 97% of the club’s share capital. They originally purchased the club in 2019 for approximately $3.5 million. 

“The sale price is $58 million for 100% of the shares,” they said in a statement. Last October, Sportico had valued the club at $49 million.

According to OL Groupe, the sale is part of their strategy to refocus on men’s soccer. Recently, the group sold the women's side of Olympique Lyonnais to Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang.

"OL Groupe is delighted with this transaction as it ensures a locally-led group will continue OL Groupe's successful development of the Seattle franchise," the holding company said.

The Reign aren’t the first club to be sold this year, with the sale of the San Diego Wave for $113 million being announced last week. In August of last year, the Red Stars were sold to a group led by Laura Ricketts for $35.5 million and in January the Portland Thorns sold for $63 million, which was at the time the highest price ever paid for an NWSL team. 

Angel City, the league’s most valuable team, is also reportedly exploring a sale of a controlling number of shares.

Kansas City makes history with ‘standard setting’ stadium opener

CPKC Stadium. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The Kansas City Current opened their new stadium on Saturday, which is believed to be the world’s first stadium purpose-built for a women’s professional team. 

It was a full circle moment with the game being played against the Portland Thorns, 11 years after the two teams played the first-ever NWSL game at a high school football field in Overland Park, Kansas.

The game was a sellout, with the Current putting on a show in front of 11,500 fans, taking down Portland 5-4 in a chaotic, back-and-forth match. For both the league and Kansas City, it was a monumental moment. 

"I've only heard people talk about our game [Saturday] and not about Sporting [Kansas City, playing a MLS home game later that night],” Lo’eau LaBonta told ESPN. “Don't get me wrong, I love Sporting as well and I've been related to them [through marriage to Sporting player Roger Espinoza] for a while now, but that's what I'm hearing, and that's already different.

"Our faces are in the airport, on the streetcars. That would have never happened [before]. I bet you back in the day, not one person could name the team or when our game was gonna be on the weekend."

Members of the 1985 USWNT were in attendance, as the club celebrated the first-ever U.S. women’s national team. They also have a special spot in the stadium, recognizing their accomplishments. 

It was a day of many firsts, as Vanessa DiBernardo had the first goal in the stadium’s history. Alex Pfeiffer also got on the scoresheet with what would turn out to be the game winner, becoming the youngest player to score in NWSL regular season history at just 16 years old. 

“I think what this club is doing and setting the standard, and building this stadium, and people showing up and supporting it, and just women’s soccer growing in general, I think it’s just super special,” DiBernardo said. “Where we started with this league and where we are now, it just shows the growth and how much players have put into it and really pushed the standard, and how much we’ve kind of really had to fight for ourselves. And it’s just the start.”

Others celebrities were in attendance as well, including Brittany and Patrick Mahomes, who are also co-owners of the team. The duo kicked off the game with the stadium’s first “KC, baby!” chant.

"We've been saying if you build it they will come internally," NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman told ESPN at halftime. "And then coming here and actually seeing what it means to actually invest in brick and mortar physical infrastructure, it's a game-changer."

Possible LSU, Iowa rematch headlines women’s March Madness bracket

LSU's Angel Reese points at her ring finger behind Iowa's Caitlin Clark in celebration of the Tigers' NCAA championship win. (Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

The 68-team bracket for March Madness was revealed on Sunday, with Iowa facing a difficult road to the Final Four. 

As expected, Iowa was named a 1-seed – the team’s first since 1992 – and will host the first two rounds of the tournament at home. But they’re joined by No. 2 seed UCLA and No. 3 seed LSU in their quadrant, setting up a number of possible blockbuster showdowns before they even reach the Final Four. That includes a possible national championship rematch with the Tigers in the Elite Eight. 

They could also find themselves up against No. 4 seed Kansas State, a team that they played twice this season – and that beat them once. 

"They’ve got the hardest road in my opinion. This is the hardest road," ESPN analyst Andraya Carter said during the selection show with Rebecca Lobo in agreement.

Other storylines in the region include a possible matchup between LSU guard Hailey Van Lith and her former team Louisville in the second round after the Cardinals were drawn in the Baton Rouge regional. 

"Initially, I just thought, 'Oooh, this is a tough, tough region,'" LSU coach Kim Mulkey said of her first reaction to the bracket.

"You really have to go game to game. After you get out of the first round, every team is basically a top-25 team," Clark said. "You need a little luck, a good draw, need to be playing your best basketball, but I think the biggest thing for me is just enjoying every single second because this is the most fun basketball.”

Other No. 1 seeds include South Carolina, who earned the No. 1 overall seed, USC and Texas. Stanford dropped to a 2-seed following their Pac-12 tournament final loss, and are joined by UCLA, Ohio State and Notre Dame. UConn, NC State and Oregon State join LSU as 3-seeds. 

Columbia will be going dancing for the first time in school history, earning an at-large play-in bid against Vanderbilt. This is just the second time the Ivy League will have two teams in the NCAA tournament. 

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