Harris criticizes Dash’s safety compliance
Orlando Pride captain Ashlyn Harris vented frustration about the Houston Dash’s commitment to coronavirus safety protocol that prompted two key Pride players to skip Saturday’s NWSL Fall Series match.
Orlando veterans Sydney Leroux and Kristen Edmonds didn’t travel to Houston for the match after a Dash player tested positive for COVID -19 on Wednesday. Every other player and staff member in the Houston organization produced two negative test results following a period of isolation, allowing the match to be played Saturday. Houston ultimately earned a 3-1 win over Orlando.
Harris said that after the Pride had numerous players register positive and inconclusive COVID-19 test results in June, forcing the team to withdraw from the NWSL Challenge Cup, they are especially careful about virus exposure. A source confirmed young players visiting a bar before the tournament likely exposed the Pride to COVID-19.
Edmonds and Leroux announced on their respective social media accounts they didn’t feel comfortable with
the safety measures taken for the Houston match.
“We’ve got players on our team that went through a pretty traumatic experience,” Harris said. “Households were separated; children were testing positive. There’s a lot of emotional trauma that our team went through, and I’m not going to sugarcoat that we still have players who are not 100% after testing positive for COVID.
“It’s been a very difficult time for our club and our
players, and we went through pretty tough things together collectively and individually when we were quarantined and people who tested positive. Syd has a family, you know. She has a family to take care of and they rely on her and she didn’t feel comfortable and we support her with that.”
Harris criticized Houston Dash players for not following social-distancing policies in the week leading up to the Orlando match.
Dash midfielder Chris
tine Nairn posted an Instagram story Sept. 18 that showed most of the team mingling on the patio of a restaurant without masks. The group, which included star players Kristie Mewis, Shea Groom and Nichelle Prince, were joined by other people listening to a musician. No one appeared to be wearing face coverings or practicing social distancing, with some Dash players at one point joining the musician on an outdoor stage.
The Pride, meanwhile, responded to their past costly coroanvirus experience by committing to strict safety measures.
“There’s no surprise that a lot of things were surfacing on the Internet of the Houston team not doing their job social distancing and being out and about without masks,” Harris said. “After what we went through and the guidelines we have been going and abiding by — we don’t leave our home. We don’t go to restaurants; we don’t go out in public. We limit our grocery store [trips] once a week.
“This has been difficult, and to see people out and about, not taking our safety into account after the traumatic experience we had, I don’t blame players just saying, ‘ No, it’s not for me, I’m not going.’ And that’s what Kristen and Syd did and it sucks and this is the reality. But this is COVID. Everyone has to do the right thing and whether they do or don’t, you know, we can’t do anything about it. But when it comes to health and safety, everyone has to make their own individual decision and we support that. And so does our club; our club completely supports it.”