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New York Times
16-05-2025
- Health
- New York Times
NWSLPA's Meghann Burke calls for ‘bright-line rule' following Savy King's collapse: Full Time
In the wake of the concerning incident that saw Angel City FC defender Savy King collapse in the 74th minute of their clash with the Utah Royals last Friday, the NWSL is reviewing its medical protocols after acknowledging that the match should never have resumed. 'Having reviewed our protocols and how they were implemented, and in listening to feedback from our stakeholders, the Angel City vs. Utah game last Friday night should not have continued,' the league said in a statement. 'The health and well-being of the entire NWSL community remains our top priority, and in any similar situation going forward, the game should and would be abandoned.' Advertisement The NWSL Players Association has been firm in its stance that the match should have been abandoned immediately, and on the latest episode of 'Full Time,' Meg Linehan was joined by NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke. She explained why the league's current policies need urgent reform and the importance of establishing a clear and non-negotiable bright-line rule for future incidents. A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on the 'Full Time' feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Meg Linehan: Thank you for joining us, Meghann. I know it has been a bit of a heavy week, and we've been doing a lot of reporting on what happened with Angel City's Savy King last weekend. Firstly, I think we've got to frame this as a player health and safety issue, and just put it in the context of what the NWSL Players Association's role is. How are you trying to approach both what happened and what comes next from that health and safety framework? Meghann Burke: First of all, Savy and her family issued a statement yesterday sharing a really positive update that she's recovering, and she has a really extremely positive prognosis. Our number one priority is Savy, her health, her recovery and supporting her. So certainly in the moment on Friday night and in the ensuing hours, it was about focusing on her getting what she needed. I also just need to say how much we appreciate the Angel City medical staff, the responding EMTs and all the people who were on the field that night, because as we said in our statement yesterday, everything we're learning is that it was conducted with the highest level of competence and care. There was an excellent response, I think they were on the field within under a minute and were able to tend to her right away. That's the first thing, and that is absolutely the highest priority and the most important thing that needs to get done in the right way. Advertisement Secondary to that, of course, is the decision to continue to play. We've taken the last several days to talk to our people and get a sense of how they were doing, and I can say it was very difficult. I think you've already heard players speaking out about that, so our attention then turned to the decision to continue playing and whether that was the right decision. The fact that they continued to play, we feel it was the wrong call, and the game should have been stopped as a human matter. The protocols almost don't matter, and we need to reframe this and think about it in terms of, 'What was the right thing to do?' And the right thing to do was to just stop playing. That's the beginning, middle and end, and that decision needed to be made on Friday night. That said, in the days that followed, we had a very strong working relationship with league office personnel and the opportunity to meet with them. I won't get into the details of those conversations, other than to say there's been a commitment on their part to share information and help us understand what happened here and what needs to change. But at the end of the day, this decision should have been made on Friday night. Nothing has changed in the days since, so we feel an urgency to call for an immediate change to the protocol that would require the suspension of a match in the event that life-saving measures are used. I want to be clear, we're not talking about a gnarly broken leg, which I know you've had, Meg. We're not even talking about a head-to-head collision or even a bench-clearing. We're talking about the exceedingly rare, hopefully, circumstance where life-saving measures are rendered for one of our own on the field. Whether it's a player, a match official, or a coach, the game and play should stop immediately. Linehan: Are you encouraged by what you're seeing there that the logistics can come after? And that someone will step in, be the adult in the room and say, 'We'll figure this out later, human life has to come first'. Burke: We're concerned, candidly. And the reason we're concerned is because this is a decision that needed to be made Friday night, and something happened where that didn't get done. We have four games tomorrow night – we have eight teams playing on a Friday night. And the rest of our teams are playing on Saturday and Sunday. Things move fast in professional sports, and you make snap judgments. Sometimes, if the snap judgment is not the right one, you reflect and say, 'Okay, how do we do it better and differently?' But some of the hand-wringing around this, and not being willing to immediately adopt a very humane and obvious bright-line rule, is the reason we're concerned and why we need a bright-line rule. Now, six days later, we still don't have a clear decision from the league that they would have stopped play if this were to happen again. Linehan: There's a trust part and an accountability part. Let's start with the accountability part, because I think there is always a difference. We saw this with some of the other things that have happened in the NWSL. There's public accountability, then there's this internal sense of accountability where players have to feel comfortable with what decisions are made. You need that communication, and that communication is, and should look different from what I'm being told and from what fans are being told. So, from an accountability point of view, do you feel like there is a path to figuring out, 'Okay, this is how we're going to move forward from this moment that is really concerning?' Advertisement Burke: I do think there's a path yes, but the concern I have is the lack of decisiveness. This is very clear to me. This is a human issue and is not even a close call, this is very obvious. And to the people who are on the field, this is obvious. And if you put yourself in those shoes, a clear message that 'We should have stopped this game' would be a powerful and cathartic decision right now in this moment. I do believe it can still happen, and you can tell from the decision on our part to issue the statement Wednesday, we did not feel that without more pressure, it's not going to happen. Linehan: Is there anything else that you think we should be learning from this moment beyond being able to make the right call in that moment? Burke: First of all, we need to focus on operational integrity. I have no doubt in my mind that every human being who had any role to play whatsoever with what happened on Friday night had the best of intentions. I don't think there was malice or ill will at any point, so I want to be clear about that. But what we're talking about is operational integrity. Having the right people in the right roles, with the right training and the right channels of communication to be able to execute on the things we know are the right thing to do. That's thing one, and I would say that's true across the board, not just in this incident. The second thing is that we live in a very complicated world right now, and we cannot let basic standards of humanity slip away from us. I'm having a hard time with the idea that there were any countervailing factors or things to consider in this moment that would have outweighed the basic human decency to call off the game. There might have been some other things that were on the table to talk about and figure out later, but that can be figured out later. At the moment, we needed to protect basic human dignity, and the right thing to do was to call off the game. I would cite, and a lot of people have raised the Christian Eriksen example with me. You talk to those players, and we consulted with FIFA Pro, too. That game carried on two hours later, and Kasper Schmeichel, the son of one of my heroes, Peter Schmeichel, is quoted as saying, 'We had to make the least bad decision. And in hindsight, we shouldn't have played.' The players agree that they shouldn't have played. And in fact, they even said, 'We shouldn't have been consulted because we shouldn't have been forced to make the decision.' This is why we're calling for a bright-line rule, and we remain ready to work with the league to make that happen. I do believe we can get there, but we do feel it's necessary to bring more pressure to bear on that decision. Linehan: Before I let you go, in terms of what's next, I know there's going to be more conversations between the Players Association and the NWSL in trying to get the protocol changes pushed through. But is there anything else that you think might be discussed? Burke: We certainly review the league's policies and rules constantly to try to see where some of our paramount priorities, particularly around player safety, are being prioritized. I do want to use this as an opportunity to say we regularly have those conversations with the league. I know, Meg, that you've been in this business for a minute, and a lot has changed over time. One of the big changes is the much more productive relationship between the Players Association and the league, and the opportunity to work on issues like this. And I still think we're going to continue to work on bringing about changes to protocols that were implicated on Friday night. Advertisement However, protocols are only as good as the people who are in the roles to execute them. So I'm focused on whether the league is adequately investing in operationalizing all these things. Not just the competition manual or the operations manual, but the collective bargaining agreement, and making sure the things we've agreed to do are being enforced and complied with. That is where our primary focus lies. Meg: All right, well Meghann, I definitely appreciate the time and thank you so much for joining us. Obviously again, all of our thoughts are with Savy King and her family, and that health update that Angel City provided probably gave everyone a massive sigh of relief. We really appreciate your time. Meghann: It really did. Thank you for that, and thank you for thinking of Savy and her family. It's been great to be with you. You can listen to full episodes of Full Time for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube. (Top Photo: Jessica Alcheh-Imagn Images)
The Guardian
08-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
The NWSL enacted mental health leave, and players are feeling the benefits
After just four years as a professional, Imani Dorsey was ready to retire. The game had always been enjoyable for her, who became a star at Duke University before being selected at No 5 overall in the NWSL Draft by Gotham FC. Now, it just wasn't anymore. 'I got to a point where I wasn't performing my job safely anymore,' she says today. 'I was like: 'I can't do this anymore. I will just retire. This is not fun. This is not enjoyable. It continuously became harder and harder to dig deeper and dig back into the tank.' Dorsey spoke with her parents and fiancé about her state of mind. She also spoke with Meghann Burke, the executive director of the NWSL Players Association (NWSLPA). In time, she decided on a different course of action: In the 2023 offseason, Dorsey became the first player to utilize the NWSL's mental health leave policy, which allows its players to take six months away while receiving their salary in full. In that time, Dorsey attempted to regain a stability she felt like she had lost, eventually returning to the league with the Utah Royals last season. 'That instability really determined the decisions and how I went about my life,' Dorsey said. 'I think going through leave and having this perspective, I've kind of taken control of my life in a lot of ways. I needed to step away to take care of myself, and I'm truly so grateful that I did.' Dorsey may have been the first to utilize the NWSL's mental health leave policy, but she was certainly not the last. Since Dorsey in 2023, more players have publicly stepped away to prioritize their mental health. Utah's Carly Nelson did so in 2024, and so too in 2025 did Racing Louisville's Bethany Balcer and Angel City's Sydney Leroux. Others presumably will follow them. The policy has been in place since 2022, when it was included in the collective bargaining agreement between the NWSL and its players' association. It was the first of its kind in women's soccer worldwide. 'The overall protection of the players, the person and mental health, was a really big proponent of the CBA,' said Madison Pogarch, Utah Royals defender and vice-president of the NWSLPA. 'We really set a standard for people to be like: 'it's okay that you can't do it every single day, all the time, and it's okay to take a break.'' That 2022 CBA was agreed upon as multiple investigations were unfolding in the wake of a reckoning with systemic abuse within the league in 2021. At the deal's signing, Burke said that 'Players drove every decision in this process.' In 2024, the NWSLPA negotiated a new CBA with the league. That one made headlines for abolishing the college draft – a first for any major US pro league. However, the deal also includes even more mental health support for the players. The 2025 NWSL season is now the first where every team is also required to have both a mental health provider and a mental health performance consultant available to players. 'Having this support for your players is unprecedented,' said Pogarch. The new mental health performance consultants operate on a strictly confidential basis, must hold a master's or doctoral degree in sport science or psychology, and be certified. They must also be available to players for 'a reasonable amount of time.' Though there is no requirement for the players to visit them one-on-one, these specialists are available to do so. They are inside the environment, observing the players' experiences first hand while also holding workshops and presentations that promote mental skills and well being. For Gotham FC general manager Yael Averbuch-West, these new requirements are just the minimum. Her team and Bay FC are two in the NWSL that have added a full time mental performance coach to their teams, who travel with the squad on matchdays. 'When we look at a 360 view of health, there's a mental, emotional, spiritual, you could add in so many aspects of a player's health,' said Averbuch-West. 'I think individualization is key. I think that is the gold standard, or North Star, or whatever you want to call it, when it comes to all aspects of health, well being and performance … I don't claim that we have unlocked the whole puzzle here. But I do think that is a very important area of focus in every team environment.' Averbuch-West, who played in the NWSL and in Sweden, uses her personal experience to help bolster the club's approach. 'I reflect back on a personal level, and so the things that maybe I could have done to better advocate for supporting my own mental health,' she said. Today, that's where someone like Agustina de Giovanni would come in. De Giovanni is Bay FC's full time mental performance specialist, but first and foremost, she views herself as working for the players. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion 'I advocate for the athletes, that's my main focus,' she said. 'For us, [it's] understanding their needs, and helping them develop the tools that they believe they need.' De Giovanni sees the mental side of soccer as just as important as the physical and the tactical. The only difference is that the brain is engaged for far more often than a muscle might be in the gym. 'If you want the same consistency, you have to train this muscle. You need to train this muscle,' she said. 'The problem is that this muscle, you are using it all the time. My mission, in my job, in my role, is to bring awareness of how this is important.' De Giovanni also believes the next step for developing a better mental health support system will be integrating it even further into U.S. soccer's coaching license courses. In her mind, once it becomes more common in the high performance environment, the stigma that still surrounds mental health specialists will be removed. She also acknowledges that the NWSL presents unique challenges due to the size of the United States. An away match in the NWSL could incur over 12 hours of total travel time over a three or four day period. All that time spent in the high-performance bubble adds up. 'Mental health support for the players is no different to physical care. The only difference is that there isn't an objective diagnosis that can be given like with a fracture or a sprain,' De Giovanni said. 'We need to bring the same awareness [to mental health support] that we bring to everything else. It's nothing about being 'crazy'. We have problems, yes, but it's not because you're 'crazy'. You're working on your mind.' The players' CBA may guarantee them the right to take leave, but the NWSLPA's mental health focus isn't limited to the players currently rostered by the league's teams. Pogarch says that the union is offering lifetime memberships for players that want to keep accessing resources after they retire. 'I think a lot of people are always trying to have a plan before you have to hang up your boots because you never know when the last day is going to be,' Pogarch said. For Dorsey, the benefit of the program was not just in the time it allowed her to take away from the game, but also in the insight it provided about the environment of professional sports, and how her own personality exists within it. Looking back, Dorsey now realizes that she can trace her mental health struggles to her rookie season and the transition into turning professional. Those first insecurities that she felt as a new player in a cutthroat, high-pressure environment intensified over the years until it became unsafe. 'That was a really challenging transition,' she said. 'I think that was a really important part of my mental health journey. I was already feeling like I was struggling just to get my feet under me.' Whether it was the pressure of competing for a contract, getting cut, or the fear of getting injured, the consequences of Dorsey's performance became unhealthy. Today, a NWSL rookie facing similar issues will have somewhere to turn.
CBC
05-02-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Settlement creates $5M US fund for NWSL players abused by coaches, officials
The U.S. National Women's Soccer League will establish a $5-million US fund for players as part of a settlement that stemmed from allegations of emotional and sexual misconduct that rocked the league in 2021. Attorneys general from Washington, D.C., Illinois and New York announced the settlement with the league on Wednesday. The funds will go to players who experienced abuse. The settlement also requires the league to maintain safeguards put into place following a pair of investigations released in late 2022 that found widespread misconduct that impacted multiple teams, coaches and players. It also gives the attorneys general, Brian L. Schwalb of Washington, D.C., Letitia James of New York and Kwame Raoul of Illinois, the ability to oversee changes that the NWSL made after the scandal broke, and the ability to fine the league if it fails to uphold those changes. "Today's settlement is only possible because of the players who courageously stepped forward to tell their stories and expose the league's systemic failures. While NWSL has made critical improvements, the victims never received any compensation for the sexual and emotional abuse they endured on the league's watch," Schwalb said in a statement Wednesday. "No dollar amount could ever fully address the damage that was inflicted, but now my office, together with New York and Illinois, will have oversight authority to ensure that the league's new safety policies are implemented and that current and future players are protected." A pair of former players, Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim, came forward in 2021 and accused longtime NWSL head coach Paul Riley of sexual harassment and coercion. Riley, who has denied the allegations, was fired by the North Carolina Courage in the aftermath. He was among five head coaches in the league who were either fired or resigned in 2021 amid claims of misconduct. The NWSL commissioner at the time also resigned. Safeguards in collective agreement Both the NWSL and U.S. Soccer launched investigations into the allegations. The U.S. Soccer report was led by former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Q. Yates, who found emotional abuse and sexual misconduct were "systemic" in the sport. Following the investigation, the NWSL implemented changes to protect players. The NWSL Players Association also negotiated safeguards in the league's collective bargaining agreement. "This investigation was initiated by the NWSLPA because players refused to stay silent in the face of systemic abuse. The human rights and civil rights violations they endured were enabled by a system that failed in its most basic duty: to protect its players," said Meghann Burke, NWSLPA executive director. "This settlement not only acknowledges those failures but, for the first time, establishes enforcement mechanisms under the law to hold NWSL accountable and to prevent future harm." Among the safeguards that are mandated to continue include comprehensive vetting of certain team personnel, mechanisms for players to report abuse, player access to free and unlimited counselling, access to a league safety officer and policies that prevent teams from investigating themselves. "We have worked collaboratively with the NWSLPA and the attorneys general to add greater strength to the programmatic changes we adopted in 2023 in light of the joint investigative reports, and we look forward to supporting the administrator in distributing the Players' Restitution Fund," current NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said in a statement. "We will continue to do the work necessary to maintain the trust of our players." The NWSL played its inaugural season in 2013. The professional women's league now has 14 teams, with two more joining in 2026. "This settlement sends a clear message that such misconduct will not be tolerated and ensures players receive the compensation and protections they deserve," James said in a statement. "Every athlete should be able to compete in a safe, supportive environment, and I thank the brave individuals who came forward to share their experiences."
Boston Globe
05-02-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Settlement creates $5 million fund for NWSL players after abuse scandal
It also gives the attorneys general, Brian L. Schwalb of Washington, DC, Letitia James of New York and Kwame Raoul of Illinois, the ability to oversee changes that the NWSL made after the scandal broke, and the ability to fine the league if it fails to uphold those changes. Advertisement 'Today's settlement is only possible because of the players who courageously stepped forward to tell their stories and expose the league's systemic failures. While NWSL has made critical improvements, the victims never received any compensation for the sexual and emotional abuse they endured on the league's watch,' Schwalb said in a statement Wednesday. 'No dollar amount could ever fully address the damage that was inflicted, but now my office, together with New York and Illinois, will have oversight authority to ensure that the league's new safety policies are implemented and that current and future players are protected.' A pair of former players — Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim — came forward in 2021 and accused longtime NWSL coach Paul Riley of sexual harassment and coercion. Riley, who has denied the allegations, was fired by the North Carolina Courage in the aftermath. He was among five head coaches in the league who were either fired or resigned in 2021 amid claims of misconduct. The NWSL commissioner at the time also resigned. Following the investigation, the NWSL implemented changes to protect players. The NWSL Players Association also negotiated safeguards in the league's collective bargaining agreement. Advertisement 'This investigation was initiated by the NWSLPA because players refused to stay silent in the face of systemic abuse. The human rights and civil rights violations they endured were enabled by a system that failed in its most basic duty: to protect its players,' said Meghann Burke, NWSLPA executive director. 'This settlement not only acknowledges those failures but, for the first time, establishes enforcement mechanisms under the law to hold NWSL accountable and to prevent future harm.' Among the safeguards that are mandated to continue include comprehensive vetting of certain team personnel, mechanisms for players to report abuse, player access to free and unlimited counseling, access to a league safety officer and policies that prevent teams from investigating themselves. 'We have worked collaboratively with the NWSLPA and the attorneys general to add greater strength to the programmatic changes we adopted in 2023 in light of the joint investigative reports, and we look forward to supporting the administrator in distributing the Players' Restitution Fund,' current NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said in a statement. 'We will continue to do the work necessary to maintain the trust of our players.' The NWSL played its inaugural season in 2013. The professional women's league now has 14 teams, with two more joining in 2026. 'This settlement sends a clear message that such misconduct will not be tolerated and ensures players receive the compensation and protections they deserve,' James said in a statement. 'Every athlete should be able to compete in a safe, supportive environment, and I thank the brave individuals who came forward to share their experiences.'
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NWSL agrees to pay $5 million to players who suffered abuse in new settlement
The NWSL will create a $5 million player compensation fund as part of a settlement regarding its role in widespread allegations of abuse. The settlement, announced on Wednesday, ends a joint investigation by the attorneys general (AGs) of the District of Columbia, Illinois and New York concerning systemic abuse across the league and potential violations of state and local human rights laws. The three offices, as with the investigation by former U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates and the joint investigation by the NWSL and NWSL players association that came before them, focused on 'pervasive sexual harassment and abuse by coaches against players' and systematic failures by the league to 'exercise adequate insight, institute workplace antidiscrimination policies, or appropriately respond to complaints,' as listed in the settlement agreement. The three AGs found that 'the NWSL was permeated by a culture of inappropriate and abusive behavior, including sexual harassment and harassment and discrimination based upon gender, race, and sexual orientation.' However, no new revelations came out of their investigation. In addition to the Players' Restitution Fund, the three offices will have the power to oversee and enforce NWSL policies concerning player safety for the next three years. The league must send compliance and misconduct reports every six months. 'We have worked collaboratively with the NWSLPA and the attorneys general to add greater strength to the programmatic changes we adopted in 2023 in light of the joint investigative reports, and we look forward to supporting the administrator in distributing the Players' Restitution Fund,' NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said in a statement on Wednesday. 'We will continue to do the work necessary to maintain the trust of our players.' The AGs called the settlement historic. Previous claims of this nature were not handled by state AGs but stemmed from criminal or civil complaints — such as USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee settling with the survivors of Larry Nassar. 'Players suffered in silence — ignored by those in a position to prevent this harm. Only through their bravery — speaking out, demanding change, and refusing to back down — did the full scale of the league's failures come to light,' Tori Huster, a retired NWSL player and the deputy executive director of the NWSL Players Association, said in a statement. 'I want to be clear: this was possible because players demanded it.' The NWSL abuse scandal was on the radar of all three AGs going back to the original reporting and investigations. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and New York Attorney General Letitia James sent an open letter to the NWSL and U.S. Soccer in December 2022 following the release of the Yates report, in which they expressed their 'alarm' over the findings. At the same time, the office of the D.C. attorney general had been following the ongoing reports concerning misconduct at the Washington Spirit. When D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb took office at the start of 2023, the three offices joined forces and began working on their investigation into potential violations of state and local human rights laws. 'While NWSL has made critical improvements, the victims never received any compensation for the sexual and emotional abuse they endured on the league's watch,' Schwalb said in a statement released on Wednesday. 'No dollar amount could ever fully address the damage that was inflicted, but now my office, together with New York and Illinois, will have oversight authority to ensure that the league's new safety policies are implemented and that current and future players are protected.' Wednesday's settlement focuses primarily on summarizing the findings from the two investigations concerning former Chicago Red Stars head coach Rory Dames, former Spirit head coach Richie Burke and former Western New York Flash (then NC Courage) head coach Paul Riley — all three of whom fall under the jurisdiction of the three offices. The settlement, published Wednesday as an 'assurance of discontinuance' — essentially a promise from the NWSL to follow the rules from now on — cites Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (the same law cited heavily in the USWNT's battle for equal pay and equal conditions), as well as the Human Rights Acts of New York state, New York City, D.C. and Illinois. The report acknowledges the league has already worked to implement the recommendations from both the Yates report and the joint investigation, as well as the sanctions and corrective actions the league issued in January 2023. The document also notes that there is a new NWSL commissioner in place in Berman, the league's human resources office has grown and the league and players association signed the first collective bargaining agreement in 2022. Wednesday's settlement, however, adds two major additions to those actions: the $5 million restitution fund and active monitoring from the attorneys general. A press conference is set for Wednesday morning. Erin Simon, whose account of her experience with former Racing Louisville head coach Christy Holly opens the Yates report, has been announced as a speaker. This story will be updated following its conclusion. The Athletic has reviewed the settlement agreement, as well as the protocol for restitution fund. The NWSL has to commit $5 million to establish the restitution fund, which will compensate players directly. The league has to follow a protocol set by the AGs in the settlement, though that protocol was not publicly provided as part of Wednesday's documentation. However, there are some basics outlined in the agreement. The NWSL must hire a third-party administrator to oversee the fund (hiring this person is an additional expense outside the $5 million). The NWSL has already selected who will serve in that role: former U.S. district judge Barbara Jones, who previously served on the oversight committee for the league and PA's joint investigation. The league will put the $5 million into escrow. Wednesday's document says that two players with settled claims against the league may be paid $1 million from the fund. These two players are unnamed in the document. The remaining $4 million will be distributed to other players, though an exact process has not yet been determined. Jones has 45 days to provide a written plan to the AGs and the league for her proposed process for players to file their claims. Another part of the new investigation from the AGs was determining what policy changes the NWSL had implemented already in the wake of the two previous investigations, as the league does not publicly publish all of its policies and internal manuals. Their agreement notes that while the NWSL has made changes, there are some new requirements for the league to follow. The AGs have requested a review of almost every policy change and newly hired human resource and player safety representative, as well as the content of trainings and other materials from the league. The settlement repeatedly mentions how player surveys, administered by the league starting in 2013, raised concerns about team cultures and allegations of harassment, yet were rarely acted upon by NWSL's leadership, and how they failed to share results with the teams themselves. The AGs are requiring an opportunity for exit interviews and anonymous feedback; they will review player surveys from past and future years; and the league will have to seek player feedback on counseling services. Additionally, the NWSL will have to establish a policy that requires teams to consult the players association during the hiring process of any head coach to 'ensure they have an adequate opportunity to raise any concerns about the prospective hire's history or reputation as it relates to player or staff safety and wellbeing.' The PA will be tasked with providing a list of assistant coaches, player safety officers and head athletic trainers they believe 'present concerns based on history and reputation,' for the league to consult during those hiring processes as well. Wednesday's agreement includes a four-phased outline of the fund protocol. The first is notification, including emails and certified mail to all potentially eligible players via the NWSLPA. Players will then have a window of 180 days to file their claims in the second phase. Players will need to provide information, including a description of events that took place, and can provide additional supporting documentation including medical or psychiatric treatment records. The third phase of this process is an assessment of those claims, which will happen on a rolling basis throughout the 180-day window. According to the process described in the agreement issued Wednesday, Jones, as the fund's administrator, will do so by 'reviewing the application survey and any supporting documentation, interviewing the claimant (via video conference or in person depending on claimant location and seriousness of allegations), and interviewing or otherwise communicating with corroborating witnesses as necessary.' It also notes Jones may use her discretion if she must interview the 'alleged abuser' to resolve any claim. Each claim will be ranked by severity. Though Wednesday's agreement notes that categories could change, the AGs anticipate that the most severe claims will include sexual abuse or assault, the next level will include severe harassment, and finally, less severe harassment. The AGs note that if retaliation occurs, it could increase a claim's ranking. Once all claims have been submitted and ranked, Jones will determine the money that will be issued to players based on the total number of claims — divided by the three different rankings. The money may not be evenly split between each player at each severity level, but instead set on a case-by-case basis based on each player's experience. Jones has an additional 90 days to determine the final amounts following the assessment period (though she may request an additional 90 days if needed due to the number of claims). Players will need to sign a release form to accept those payments via wire transfer. If there's any money not distributed to players as part of this process, any remaining funds will be donated to the players association's emergency and charitable fund. NWSL must ensure the attorneys general are kept informed via mandatory reports every six months for the next three years, which must include two sections: how the league is implementing the required policies and a report of any formal or informal complaints alleging misconduct and any subsequent investigation status. The three AGs will actively monitor and enforce these changes across the NWSL. While the league has done its share in establishing policies for player health and safety, there was no established external force to do so beyond public sentiment. Three years of oversight with the threat of additional investigations or civil actions helps add teeth to the continued work of improving the league. The AGs can initiate future investigations, and they have the right to bring civil action against the league in the courts of D.C., Illinois and New York. There are also three provisions that, if the NWSL fails to meet them, could have additional penalties: if the NWSL fails to pay the players via the $5 million fund; if the league fails to perform any of the 'programmatic relief requirements' (the policy changes, etc.) within a certain timeframe; or if the league is charged by one of the AGs with breaking the laws cited in the agreement (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act or any of the three states' human rights laws). If any of those happen, the AGs can investigate and/or bring a civil action against the league, and issue a $2 million penalty that would be paid out to their three offices. The oversight agreed to in this settlement cannot be extended past three years. However, any one of the attorneys general could open a new investigation if necessary after the three years end. The offices hope that if anything were to occur after that, players would feel empowered to report misconduct to their offices. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. US Women's national team, Portland Thorns, Chicago Red Stars, Houston Dash, North Carolina Courage, OL Reign, Orlando Pride, Gotham FC, Kansas City Current, Washington Spirit, Angel City, Racing Louisville FC, San Diego Wave, Utah Royals FC, Bay FC, Soccer, NWSL 2025 The Athletic Media Company
