The NWSL is failing to meet the moment.
The NWSL’s growth mindset has continually come at the expense of player safety.
NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman is under fire yet again after Saturday’s primetime match in Kansas City was delayed for over three hours during the NWS issued Heat Advisory.
The Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) reader sat at midfield, baked in the August Kansas City sun.
The WBGT device had, unfortunately, become the star of the show as fans, media, players, owners, and Jessica Berman anticipated each reading, hoping that the match would be played in the CBS broadcast window.
WBGT reading had to register below 92.3 degrees Fahrenheit, per league policy and CBA. Essentially, any reading above 92.3 indicates an environment where the human body can no longer regulate internal temperature.
Disappointing for the NWSL, no one can control the weather, and the Midwest summer heat made playing untenable.
It was a predictable result to almost everyone; unfortunately, Berman didn’t find it acceptable.
Berman, as The Athletic reported Thursday afternoon, had downplayed the NWSLPA’s concerns about the start time in March when the schedule was submitted for feedback. Berman ignored the concerns of both the Kansas City Current and Orlando Pride ahead of the match, and then threatened to fine both clubs if they didn’t play the match after an initial WBGT reading came back in the optimal temperature while clouds momentarily passed overhead.
Reports at the time mentioned Chris Long, KC Current ownership, speaking angrily on the phone as players were sent back to the locker room for a second time. On the other side of that phone call, Commissioner Berman threatened to fine the clubs if they didn’t violate the CBA-mandated extreme heat protocol.
“We’re just as frustrated as you are.” Lo’eau LaBonta told the fans during the delay.
Little did fans know how true those words would become.
Berman’s actions are craven.
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16 people were treated for heat related injuries according to the University of Kansas Health System event report.
The Current had followed protocol, listened to their medical staff, and ultimately weren’t going to force the players to play in dangerous conditions. According to the Athletic, Berman claimed that the Long’s broke protocol by taking a second reading after the false positive. The commissioner was ready to put players in immediate danger to appease their media partners.
“The league aims to play matches as scheduled whenever safely possible.” A league statement said. “While forecasts guide planning, we primarily rely on real-time, on-site weather data to make informed decisions in accordance with our inclement weather policies and protocols. Based on those inputs, the league made the decision to delay Saturday’s match.”
This all could have been prevented if the league acted when the NWS Moderate Heat Advisory was announced earlier in the week — or when the NWSLPA brought up the concern in March.
Instead, the league’s showcase between the top two teams in the table was relegated to CBSSports.com as a significant number of fans decided to head home to recover instead of returning to the stadium.
The match played out to a scoreless draw after an exhausted group of players attempted to make the most out of the conditions.
“It was a long day.” Vlatko Andonovski told reporters. “We always knew this was a possibility so we just had to do our best to stay positive and stay focused throughout the day. There’s nothing we can do to control the weather, so we just had to focus on the things we could control.”
It was a disaster, but far from the only time the league has disregarded player safety this season.
The Cascadia clubs experienced equally dangerous conditions the week prior. Laura Harvey told reporters that players were recovering from burned soles suffered during play on the fiery Portland turf.
“A lot of the players on Sunday literally had burned feet.” Harvey said last Tuesday. “The turf literally burned them.”
Turf readings that day reached dangerous temperatures—one photographer even recording surface temps of over 150 degrees—but the match continued, just as it did in Los Angeles a few months prior.
In LA; Berman’s lack of response to Savy King’s medical emergency foretold the lack of care surrounding player wellbeing at the league office. Despite receiving over ten minutes of medical care on the pitch, the match resumed after both Angel City and Utah players huddled together.
“I’m not sure if we should have continued the game,” Utah manager Jimmy Coenraets said afterwards. “Our players were just scared. That’s not the right situation to be in but in the end, we played on.”
The NWSL has the policies in place to postpone or delay matches in these moments but time and time again they’ve decided to push on against the wishes of players, staff, and the fans paying to be in attendance.
Jessica Berman was supposed to lead the league into a new era of player safety and professionalism. Instead, she’s corporatized the league, painted a shiny veneer of brand deals, questionable partnerships, and primetime attention over the same problems that have plagued women’s soccer for decades.
When will it be enough?
The NWSL has to be better than this.
The current leadership is untenable, and the owners must move on from Berman.
No one can deny that the league has experienced major growth post-COVID but they are quickly losing longtime woso supporters that have seen this time and time and time again.
The NWSL must submit their biannual report to the Attorneys General soon, and these player safety failures combined with the botched investigations into the San Diego and Bay environments should have the league worried.
What is it about soccer in America that we are constantly failing to learn from its past mistakes?
Something has to give.
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