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New York Times
18-05-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Angel City's Savy King discharged from hospital roughly one week after on-field collapse
Angel City defender Savy King has been discharged from the hospital after undergoing successful surgery, roughly one week after collapsing on the field during her team's game against the Utah Royals. King, 20, was discharged from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Saturday and is now at home resting with her family, the team said in a statement released Sunday. 'On behalf of Angel City FC and Savy's family, we are so grateful for the expert medical care she received by the world class providers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in consultation with our medical staff,' the team said. 'Angel City is prepared to support Savy as she continues her recovery.' A post shared by National Women's Soccer League (@nwsl) In the week following King's collapse, the National Women's Soccer League said it would review the protocols that allowed for the game to continue even after the defender received life-saving care on the pitch. King collapsed in the 74th minute of the regular-season game against the Royals on Friday, May 9, at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Advertisement The defender was down for several minutes and received immediate care from Angel City's medical staffers, who have been praised by the NWSL, players and NWSL Players Association for their quick action, before being transported via ambulance to California Hospital Medical Center. King was admitted to Cedars-Sinai the following day after doctors discovered a heart abnormality that required surgery. NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman on Saturday spoke publicly for the first time since King's medical event during a half-time media availability with reporters during halftime of Angel City and Bay FC's rivalry match at PayPal Park in San Jose, California. Berman said the league was focused on 'ensuring that all of our medical procedures were followed and that, on a go-forward basis,' games do not continue in similar circumstances. Though the commissioner reiterated that the match should not have continued, she provided little detail on how the decision was made or the specifics of her involvement that night. The NWSL initially said it followed 'league protocols … from both a medical and game operations perspective,' when it made the decision to resume the remainder of the match after King's collapse. By Wednesday, the league said it would review those protocols. The NWSL Players Association on Wednesday issued its own statement calling for immediate changes to the existing protocol, including determining whose responsibility it is to inform necessary parties on how to proceed amid a serious event. In the moments after the game ended, players and coaching staff questioned the decision to keep playing, sharing the whirlwind of emotions they endured while sending support to King for a full recovery. 'In those moments, I'm not sure if we should have continued the game,' Utah Royals head coach Jimmy Coenraets told reporters after the game. 'You're emotionally — not only them but also our players were just scared. That's not the right situation to be in, but in the end, we played on. That's the decision other people have taken, which is fine. It was a really tough moment.' Advertisement Angel City forward Christen Press, who scored the game-winning goal shortly before King's medical event, addressed the emotions in a postgame interview with CBS. 'I think this game has been very emotional, very tough. All of us are praying for Savy, our teammate,' she said. 'That's really all I can think about right now. It was a really emotional game.'
New York Times
18-05-2025
- Health
- New York Times
NWSL commissioner on decision to play after Savy King's collapse: ‘All we could do is learn'
SAN JOSE, Calif. — National Women's Soccer League commissioner Jessica Berman spoke publicly on Saturday for the first time since Angel City FC defender Savy King collapsed during a game against the Utah Royals on May 9. During halftime of Angel City's game at Bay FC on Saturday, Berman said the league was focused on 'ensuring that all of our medical procedures were followed and that, on a go-forward basis,' games do not continue under any similar circumstances. Though the commissioner reiterated that the match should not have continued, she provided little detail on how the decision was made or the specifics of her involvement that night. Advertisement King, 20, collapsed on the field in the 74th minute of the regular-season game against the Royals last week with her team up 1-0. She was down for several minutes and received care from Angel City's medical staff, who have been praised by the NWSL, players and NWSL Players Association for their quick action, before being transported via ambulance to California Hospital Medical Center. 'Our focus was really on making sure that the player was cared for during the game, and so we were quite relieved and pleased that she had the resources and that Angel City's medical team really managed her care effortlessly and amazingly,' Berman told reporters Saturday. 'All we could do is learn from the experience and conclude that in a future situation, we will ensure that our policies and protocols do not allow the game to continue.' When asked whether she was awake last Friday night at the time of the incident, which occurred over an hour into a game that kicked off at 10 p.m. ET, Berman said, 'As we've reviewed the situation, I don't think it's constructive to recount who did what and when.' When The Athletic asked Berman if a replacement ambulance had been ordered to the field before the game restarted, she said, 'I would have to double-check on that because I wouldn't want to answer that specific question without confirming.' The full medical guidelines for NWSL are not publicly available. However, the league's collective bargaining agreement with the players' association states that teams shall secure a medical provider and agreement and/or association with a medical center to provide emergency care 'for necessary medical treatment for players from the home and visiting teams.' Earlier in the week, King was transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she underwent successful surgery to address a heart abnormality. Angel City said her prognosis is 'excellent.' Advertisement Utah Royals head coach Jimmy Coenraets said he was not sure the game should have continued after King's collapse. 'You're emotionally — not only them but also our players were just scared,' Coenraets told reporters after the May 9 game. 'That's not the right situation to be in, but in the end, we played on. That's the decision other people have taken, which is fine. It was a really tough moment.' Monday, Angel City and Bay FC players and front offices came together to discuss the best way to honor King and decided to wear black shirts with 'SK3,' King's initials and jersey number. Angel City players also wore black armbands during the game. NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke told the 'Full Time' podcast that the league needs to implement 'bright-line rules' around stopping games in the face of a medical emergency. The organization later praised the league for acknowledging that the game should not have continued. Berman said the league learned to ensure it handles future situations appropriately and that matches will not continue when similar medical emergencies take place. 'I think a lot of communication and learning and, most importantly, a focus on really ensuring that we are showing up for the people who were in that stadium. I can't imagine what that was like for everyone who experienced it and wanted to make sure that our focus was on the resources that they need to process and digest what they all experienced,' Berman said. 'Secondarily, our focus was on the player and her family and making sure that she was OK, and thankfully, she was.' (Photo of Jessica Berman: Kylie Graham / Imagn Images)
CBC
16-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
NWSL says game should not have continued after Savy King collapsed on the field
A game between Angel City and the Utah Royals should not have continued after Savy King collapsed on the field and had to be hospitalized, the National Women's Soccer League said Friday. The league said it came to the conclusion after reviewing its protocols and listening to feedback from stakeholders. There were persistent questions this week about the league's procedures. A league statement expressed regret for allowing last Friday's match in Los Angeles to go on after the 20-year-old Angel City defender was carted off the field while shaken players and fans looked on. "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," said the statement. King underwent surgery on Tuesday after doctors discovered a heart abnormality. The team announced she is recovering and her prognosis is good. WATCH | Jonathan David transfer buzz and NSL week 4 breakdown: Jonathan David transfer buzz and NSL week 4 breakdown 3 days ago Duration 13:40 Andi Petrillo is joined by analyst Amy Walsh and Halifax Tides FC's Marika Guay to break down Canadian soccer's biggest headlines, including this week's NSL top moment. The NWSL Players Association was among those that said the match should have been suspended after King's collapse in the 74th minute. The players' union issued a statement Friday saying it was grateful the league listened to the concerns. "The league's acknowledgement that the game should have ended — and its commitment to adopting this protocol for the future, should it ever be needed — represents a meaningful step forward," the NWSLPA said. "It's a change made possible by the strength and unity of our players. Player safety is not a slogan. It is a practice." The NWSL said earlier this week that it was reviewing its protocols. The league ultimately makes the decision when it comes to suspending, canceling or postponing games. NWSL rules for 2025 state that the league "recognizes that emergencies may arise which make the start or progression of a Game inadvisable or dangerous for participants and spectators. Certain event categories automatically trigger the League Office into an evaluation of whether delay or postponement is necessary." King was the second-overall pick in the 2024 NWSL draft by expansion Bay FC and played 18 games for the club. She was traded to Angel City in February and had started in all eight games for the team this season.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
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. 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. Advertisement 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?' 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. Advertisement 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. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Angel City, NWSL, Full Time Podcast 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Reuters
16-05-2025
- Health
- Reuters
NWSL: Match should've ended after player's collapse
May 16 - The National Women's Soccer League acknowledged Friday that last weekend's match should have ended after a player collapsed on the field. Play resumed on May 9 after about 10 minutes of medical attention for Angel City FC defender Savy King, who fell to the ground in the 74th minute and was taken away on a cart following life-saving measures. Angel City finished the emotional evening with a 2-0 win against the Utah Royals in Los Angeles. King, 20, underwent cardiac surgery on Tuesday after doctors discovered a heart abnormality. The team issued a statement this week saying "her prognosis is excellent" but asked for privacy for King during her recovery. The NWSL Players Association issued a statement Wednesday saying the match should not have continued. "These moments demand humanity, sound judgment, and restraint," the NWSLPA said in a statement. "Any medical emergency that requires the administration of life-saving care should bring play to an end. The match should not have continued. "Incidents of this severity must prioritize our collective humanity and should automatically trigger suspension of the match. The Players Association is committed to making this the standard in NWSL. "Our members are elite, world class competitors who have proven they can perform under unimaginable conditions. That does not mean they should have to." The NWSL gave a statement to ESPN on Friday vowing to handle things differently in the future. "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 NWSL said. "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." King was the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft out of North Carolina. She was traded from Bay FC to hometown Angel City in the offseason. --Field Level Media
