Former Pride striker Spencer finds footing with OL Reign
Former Orlando Pride striker Jasmyne Spencer wasn’t sure how to feel in the moments before she stepped onto the field for the first time in the NWSL Challenge Cup.
It had been more than a year since she tore her ACL in the first match of OL Reign’s 2019 season. Spencer said it was a rush as she subbed on in the 76th minute.
“I felt every emotion, all day and leading up to that moment — anxious, nervous, excited, happy,” she said. “It was an incredible night.
“I definitely wouldn’t say I’m back to myself. I think it’s going to take a couple more games just to get the sense of speed of play and decision-making. But it was great and I loved every minute of it.”
Spencer made her presence felt quickly, forcing keeper Kailen Sheridan to make the hardest save of the day with a shot rifled from close range. Those 15 minutes on the field were the conclusion of a year’s worth of rehabilitation, but it also came after months of turmoil.
As one of several Black players on the Reign roster, Spencer’s focus shifted away from soccer as protests erupted around the nation following the death of George Floyd.
While Seattle hosted some of the largest protests in the nation, the Reign spoke out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. The team released a video on the day of its first Challenge Cup match documenting players’ participation in a “privilege walk.”
The Black Lives Matter movement also became a focus for Spencer’s sustainable clothing business, Jas It Up. Now almost every minute of Spencer’s time off the pitch is focused on one thing: using her business to make a difference.
This dedication has been a mainstay throughout Spencer’s career. She started Jas It Up when she was playing for the Pride and continues to run it as a family operation with her sisters-in-law. A portion of the profits continue to benefit a program at the Wayne Densch YMCA Family Center in Orlando, where Spencer returns each year to hold a soccer clinic.
In the weeks leading up to the Challenge Cup, Spencer sought a way to use her business to support her team’s aim to address racism through the platform provided by the tournament.
Spencer collaborated with the team’s merchandise provider to create the Reign’s warmups for the tournament — black shirts emblazoned with the words “Black Lives Matter” highlighted in white and yellow. Her teammates wore “BLM” masks while Spencer wore a headband featuring the names of Black women who died at the hands of the police.
The shirts and masks also bore the name of Manuel Ellis, a Black man killed in March while getting detained by Tacoma police officers. Ellis complained to police, “I can’t breathe.”
Spencer said the Reign are continuing to take major steps, both internally and publicly, to support their Black players and improve life for Black people in their community. She partially attributes that to owners Bill and Teresa Predmore, whom she said stepped back to allow Black players to spearhead conversations and initiatives.
One of those initiatives is a weekly book club for Reign players, with reading selections focused on the history of racism in America.
“[It’s] just helping to paint the picture of why we wound up this far gone and maybe working out ways we can start to work backwards to break down systemic racism,” Spencer said. “You have to educate yourself before you can make a difference.”
In the meantime, the striker knows she’ll use her talents on and off the field to make change, whether that’s teaching a soccer clinic or sewing masks. And she plans to continue to kneel during the anthem until meaningful change is made for Black people throughout the country.
“I believe it’s a statement worth making,” Spencer said. “I have probably the greatest reach that I’ve ever had as a black female professional athlete. The important thing for me to do is to make sure the message continues to get get heard for as long as possible.
“And if that means kneeling, then I’m going to keep doing it.”