Women’s league conflicted by sudden attention
NWSL players have ‘incredible stories that deserve to be heard year-round’
On June 15, ESPN held a two-hour “SportsCenter” special aptly titled, “The Return of Sports,” featuring COVIDrelated discussions with six commissioners: NFL’s Roger Goodell, NBA’s Adam Silver, MLB’s Rob Manfred, NHL’s Gary Bettman, WNBA’s Cathy Engelbert and MLS’ Don Garber. Missing from that talk was Lisa Baird, commissioner of the National
Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
Meghan Klingenberg noticed the omission then. And don’t think for a second she has forgotten about it.
The NWSL, the first professional sports league in the United States to return to action after the COVID-19 sports shutdown, kicked off its eight -team Challenge Cup tournament June 27.
Klingenberg, a Pine-Richland High School graduate and defender for the Portland Thorns, is one of several players with Western Pennsylvania ties competing in the tournament. Veronica Latsko, a Peters Township product, has started in attack for the
Houston Dash. And a handful of Penn State alumnae, from veteran goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher to rookie defender Kaleigh Riehl, have made contributions to their respective teams, as well.
The league, which is operating within a “bubble” in Herriman and Sandy, Utah, has not played in front of fans due to COVID-19 concerns. But its opening match two weeks ago between the
Thorns and North Carolina Courage drew a record-breaking 572,000 viewers on CBS, according to The Athletic’s Meg Linehan. The league also garnered attention after players on both teams knelt for the national anthem while wearing Black Lives Matter T-shirts.
Klingenberg said this week that her Portland squad was “in it together” to show support for the Black players in its locker room. That sentiment has since been echoed throughout the league.
The image of Chicago Red Stars midfielder Julie Ertz, who is white, and defender Casey Short, who is Black, embracing during the anthem served as a powerful moment, one that was recognized throughout the sports world. And at an organizational level, since the start of the tournament, all eight participating teams have taken to social media to express pride in the players’ decision to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
From a logistical and sporting sense, too, Klingenberg is happy to see the NWSL recognized as the first league to return to action amid the pandemic. “I feel like it’s incredible that we’re even able to pull this off,” she added. As fellow leagues struggle to get their seasons off the ground, the NWSL is not only taking a stand [figuratively], but also experiencing a lot of positives.
Still, there’s a part of Klingenberg that feels slighted.
“I think that the players, the coaches, the staff, the owners and the league are getting more attention than any other time when we play, and that’s great. But I also think that’s really sad. Because we have so many incredible women in this league with a lot of really incredible stories that deserve to be heard year-round,” Klingenberg said. “It’s disappointing that we get put under this microscope when it’s convenient for everyone else.”
Klingenberg also lamented the “negative news” that has been out there about the league nationally, specifically the Orlando Pride’s absence from the Challenge Cup. The team, guided by former Penn State defender and U.S. Women’s National Team stalwart Ali Krieger, withdrew after six players and four staffers tested positive for COVID-19.
The Pride aside, though, things have run smoothly in Utah, which is a relief for those who eagerly awaited the opportunity to get back on the pitch.
It has been a highly unusual introduction to the league for Penn State’s Riehl, the No. 11 overall pick by Sky Blue FC in the January draft. The NCAA’s all-time leader in minutes played by a position player (8,847), Riehl is looking to carve out similar playing time at the professional level.
Of course, the 2015 national champion faced a steeper learning curve than normal. Riehl said she met up with new teammates and could train for only five days in March before COVID-19 altered the sports landscape. After starting Saturday, she did not play in a 2-0 win late Wednesday night against the Houston Dash.
Meanwhile, Latsko, a twotime Pittsburgh Post-Gazette player of the year while at Peters Township, is entering her third season with the Dash. That is, if this tournament is to be considered a season. Latsko, who played seven minutes in the loss Wednesday, is approaching it that way, with no guarantee that a full campaign will piggyback the Challenge Cup — which ensures four preliminaryround matches for seeding and a quarterfinal round, followed by the semifinals and championship.
The Challenge Cup final, scheduled for July 26, will air on CBS, with the remaining games on CBS All Access.
Latsko’s hopes and expectations are to reach the title match and win it, especially after coming so close to lifting a trophy a few months ago.
The 2012 and 2013 Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year joined Sydney FC on loan from Houston in October. Rebounding from an ACL injury, Latsko helped the Australian club to the league final March 21. The match, which was played without fans after the emergence of the novel coronavirus, went Melbourne City’s way. But that didn’t preclude Latsko and her teammates from celebrating the season.
After a postgame night out with teammates in Sydney that lasted until 2 a.m., Latsko woke up four hours later for her 10 a.m. flight stateside. She had three previous flights canceled because of COVID-19, so she couldn’t afford to miss it. When she arrived in Houston, Latsko’s focus shifted toward training for a season that might not happen. The Challenge Cup wasn’t officially announced until mid-June.
“It’s pretty easy to get into an anxiety-ridden mindset [training during quarantine]. … There were days where it was super hard and lonely,” Latsko said before the Challenge Cup, then laughing a bit. “My roommate and I ended up getting another dog to help deal with the quarantine.”
No, Latsko couldn’t bring her rescued golden retriever/ great pyrenees mix to Utah with her. Kai is with family while she takes pride in playing in the NWSL — a league she thinks should have gained national traction far sooner than now. She’s not alone in that belief, either.
“It’s time that the NWSL is put on the stage that it’s meant to be on,” Latsko said. “We’re the best players in the world. We should be noticed as that. So it’s nice that we’re finally getting this appreciation and acknowledgement for all the hard work and hard years those more senior, veteran players have put in. Credit to them for sticking it out in the tough, early years.”
“We never get the attention that is due, with incredible athletes who work their asses off,” Klingenberg added. “Quite frankly I’m tired of it.”