Teh One Who Knocks
07-16-2016, 01:53 PM
By Cindy Boren - The Washington Post
http://i.imgur.com/LwckMH6.jpg
The National Women’s Soccer League took an embarrassing hit over the weekend when it allowed a match to be played on a narrow field and now Hope Solo, the goalie for the U.S. women’s national team and the Seattle Reign, believes it’s another sign that “we have a crisis on our hands.”
Solo, who has become one of the national team’s leaders in the fight for pay and conditions that are equal to those given the men’s team, ripped the league for the 58-yard wide field as well as for its financial, travel and equipment arrangements.
“We have a crisis on our hands and the players of the NWSL want to see more from our commissioner and our league,” she wrote in a detailed essay on her own website. “We lose a lot of players — quality players for the league — over time because they can’t afford it. In the end, to watch them realize their dreams aren’t sustainable is very hard to watch — and there are a lot of broken dreams for women in our sport.”
Solo backed up her criticism with a number of photos of conditions the women deal with.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">ICYMI: This is a common sight for players in the <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSL">@NWSL</a>. My blog on why things have to change <a href="https://t.co/YgS0pprFZW">https://t.co/YgS0pprFZW</a> <a href="https://t.co/LtbFPNR3Xi">pic.twitter.com/LtbFPNR3Xi</a></p>— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) <a href="https://twitter.com/hopesolo/status/752957469656244224">July 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Solo’s objections included:
We aren’t allowed to train on game fields at every venue, and in fact, places like Kansas put us on turf to practice. (My cleats actually melted on the turf in Kansas because it was so hot!) When we trained in Washington DC, there were lightning storms, and the staff at the training facility wouldn’t open up available rooms to allow us to take cover inside. (We found our way in anyway, thanks to Laura and our staff, and made the most of it by playing volleyball to get a sweat.)
Games aren’t much better. Many of the fields and equipment are poor. At our one of our practice fields, the net was secured in some places with Zip ties and players cut their hands.
Often times, we won’t shower at the venues because the showers are disgusting and unsanitary.
We do not have close to adequate security. During games, fans are allowed to stand directly behind the goal and yell the most obscene things you can imagine. With the vitriol that comes out of people’s mouths, who knows what they’re capable of, and there’s usually virtually no security there to do anything about it. Again, people are allowed to stand literally feet from the goal. And after the games, the walk to the locker room from the field is often right through tailgating fans, again without security.
The league hasn’t adopted FIFA rules so there is no appeal structure for suspensions, bad calls, etc. FIFA rules would also ensure minimum field dimensions, something currently not in place.
The post comes just days after the Reign’s game against the Western New York Flash was moved to the outfield of the Rochester Red Wings. Although NWSL and MLS regulations specify that a field be at least 70 yards wide, the game was played on the width of just 58 yards. The optics were not good and Solo pointed out that on Saturday “they had no stretcher on the field when our goalkeeper, Haley Kopmeyer, was injured. They tried to put her in a baseball 4-wheeler that had dirt and equipment in it. She had to wait for the ambulance to move her carefully.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">When the field is 58 yards wide, every throw-in is a long one + almost every foul is happening inside the box. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NWSL?src=hash">#NWSL</a> <a href="https://t.co/QnPa6jjN5O">pic.twitter.com/QnPa6jjN5O</a></p>— Caitlin Murray (@caitlinmurr) <a href="https://twitter.com/caitlinmurr/status/751924306070769664">July 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The optics of the game drew wide attention on social media and comments from other prominent NWSL/USWNT players.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/mPinoe">@mPinoe</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Nswl">@Nswl</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPlush">@JeffPlush</a> so unacceptable though, seriously.</p>— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) <a href="https://twitter.com/alexmorgan13/status/751937080268390400">July 10, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
NWSL Commissioner Jeff Plush promised the league would do better. “The field dimensions were not up to our standards, but due to various factors, the league office made the decision to grant an exception for this evening’s match. In retrospect, we made the wrong decision,” he said in a statement Saturday. “As a professional league, we need to ensure that the integrity of the game is always respected both on and off the field. We did not do that tonight and we apologize to the NWSL players, coaches and fans. In the future, we will ensure that every NWSL match meets our standards.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Of course <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSL">@NWSL</a> has to apologize,but all <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPlush">@JeffPlush</a> said was"we knew it wasnt up to standard,approved it anyway, sorry" Apology not accpeted</p>— Megan Rapinoe (@mPinoe) <a href="https://twitter.com/mPinoe/status/751989832495366144">July 10, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Solo pointed out that the conditions were the norm. “While Sunday’s field issues made national headlines, which we were all so glad to see, the truth is that the standards of our league are so inconsistent and disappointing across the board, these kinds of incidents are really the rule and not the exception,” she wrote.
Last December, the U.S. Soccer Federation canceled a match between the U.S. women’s team and Trinidad & Tobago because of field conditions in Hawaii.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">One of the reasons <a href="https://twitter.com/ussoccer">@ussoccer</a> canceled today's game in Hawaii. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USWNT?src=hash">#USWNT</a> <a href="https://t.co/uKJUMmOCA5">pic.twitter.com/uKJUMmOCA5</a></p>— Julie Foudy (@JulieFoudy) <a href="https://twitter.com/JulieFoudy/status/673491296653352960">December 6, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“I think the timing is right. I think we’ve proven our worth over the years, just coming off a World Cup win,” Carli Lloyd told NBC’s Matt Lauer on the “Today” show. “The pay disparity between men and women is just too large, and we want to continue to fight. The generation of players before us fought, and we want to continue the fight.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/equalplayequalpay?src=hash">#equalplayequalpay</a> <a href="https://t.co/PNyOEd9cu4">pic.twitter.com/PNyOEd9cu4</a></p>— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) <a href="https://twitter.com/hopesolo/status/751225979901587456">July 8, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The women’s national team will play next month in the Rio Olympic Games and, afterward, they’ll return to the NWSL. Solo pledged that the women’s national team would direct all of the proceeds from its “Equal Play Equal Pay” T-shirt campaign to the NWSL Players Trust Fund.
“The ‘we know things aren’t up to par, but we’re going ahead with them anyway’ attitude, quite honestly, is a fairly accurate reflection of how the NWSL has functioned during the four years of its existence,” Solo wrote. “It’s far past time that the women in our league start being treated like professional athletes — otherwise, we might as well just admit that the NWSL is just a semi-pro league, and stop pretending like it’s the best women’s league in the world.”
http://i.imgur.com/LwckMH6.jpg
The National Women’s Soccer League took an embarrassing hit over the weekend when it allowed a match to be played on a narrow field and now Hope Solo, the goalie for the U.S. women’s national team and the Seattle Reign, believes it’s another sign that “we have a crisis on our hands.”
Solo, who has become one of the national team’s leaders in the fight for pay and conditions that are equal to those given the men’s team, ripped the league for the 58-yard wide field as well as for its financial, travel and equipment arrangements.
“We have a crisis on our hands and the players of the NWSL want to see more from our commissioner and our league,” she wrote in a detailed essay on her own website. “We lose a lot of players — quality players for the league — over time because they can’t afford it. In the end, to watch them realize their dreams aren’t sustainable is very hard to watch — and there are a lot of broken dreams for women in our sport.”
Solo backed up her criticism with a number of photos of conditions the women deal with.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">ICYMI: This is a common sight for players in the <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSL">@NWSL</a>. My blog on why things have to change <a href="https://t.co/YgS0pprFZW">https://t.co/YgS0pprFZW</a> <a href="https://t.co/LtbFPNR3Xi">pic.twitter.com/LtbFPNR3Xi</a></p>— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) <a href="https://twitter.com/hopesolo/status/752957469656244224">July 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Solo’s objections included:
We aren’t allowed to train on game fields at every venue, and in fact, places like Kansas put us on turf to practice. (My cleats actually melted on the turf in Kansas because it was so hot!) When we trained in Washington DC, there were lightning storms, and the staff at the training facility wouldn’t open up available rooms to allow us to take cover inside. (We found our way in anyway, thanks to Laura and our staff, and made the most of it by playing volleyball to get a sweat.)
Games aren’t much better. Many of the fields and equipment are poor. At our one of our practice fields, the net was secured in some places with Zip ties and players cut their hands.
Often times, we won’t shower at the venues because the showers are disgusting and unsanitary.
We do not have close to adequate security. During games, fans are allowed to stand directly behind the goal and yell the most obscene things you can imagine. With the vitriol that comes out of people’s mouths, who knows what they’re capable of, and there’s usually virtually no security there to do anything about it. Again, people are allowed to stand literally feet from the goal. And after the games, the walk to the locker room from the field is often right through tailgating fans, again without security.
The league hasn’t adopted FIFA rules so there is no appeal structure for suspensions, bad calls, etc. FIFA rules would also ensure minimum field dimensions, something currently not in place.
The post comes just days after the Reign’s game against the Western New York Flash was moved to the outfield of the Rochester Red Wings. Although NWSL and MLS regulations specify that a field be at least 70 yards wide, the game was played on the width of just 58 yards. The optics were not good and Solo pointed out that on Saturday “they had no stretcher on the field when our goalkeeper, Haley Kopmeyer, was injured. They tried to put her in a baseball 4-wheeler that had dirt and equipment in it. She had to wait for the ambulance to move her carefully.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">When the field is 58 yards wide, every throw-in is a long one + almost every foul is happening inside the box. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NWSL?src=hash">#NWSL</a> <a href="https://t.co/QnPa6jjN5O">pic.twitter.com/QnPa6jjN5O</a></p>— Caitlin Murray (@caitlinmurr) <a href="https://twitter.com/caitlinmurr/status/751924306070769664">July 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The optics of the game drew wide attention on social media and comments from other prominent NWSL/USWNT players.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/mPinoe">@mPinoe</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Nswl">@Nswl</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPlush">@JeffPlush</a> so unacceptable though, seriously.</p>— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) <a href="https://twitter.com/alexmorgan13/status/751937080268390400">July 10, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
NWSL Commissioner Jeff Plush promised the league would do better. “The field dimensions were not up to our standards, but due to various factors, the league office made the decision to grant an exception for this evening’s match. In retrospect, we made the wrong decision,” he said in a statement Saturday. “As a professional league, we need to ensure that the integrity of the game is always respected both on and off the field. We did not do that tonight and we apologize to the NWSL players, coaches and fans. In the future, we will ensure that every NWSL match meets our standards.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Of course <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSL">@NWSL</a> has to apologize,but all <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPlush">@JeffPlush</a> said was"we knew it wasnt up to standard,approved it anyway, sorry" Apology not accpeted</p>— Megan Rapinoe (@mPinoe) <a href="https://twitter.com/mPinoe/status/751989832495366144">July 10, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Solo pointed out that the conditions were the norm. “While Sunday’s field issues made national headlines, which we were all so glad to see, the truth is that the standards of our league are so inconsistent and disappointing across the board, these kinds of incidents are really the rule and not the exception,” she wrote.
Last December, the U.S. Soccer Federation canceled a match between the U.S. women’s team and Trinidad & Tobago because of field conditions in Hawaii.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">One of the reasons <a href="https://twitter.com/ussoccer">@ussoccer</a> canceled today's game in Hawaii. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USWNT?src=hash">#USWNT</a> <a href="https://t.co/uKJUMmOCA5">pic.twitter.com/uKJUMmOCA5</a></p>— Julie Foudy (@JulieFoudy) <a href="https://twitter.com/JulieFoudy/status/673491296653352960">December 6, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“I think the timing is right. I think we’ve proven our worth over the years, just coming off a World Cup win,” Carli Lloyd told NBC’s Matt Lauer on the “Today” show. “The pay disparity between men and women is just too large, and we want to continue to fight. The generation of players before us fought, and we want to continue the fight.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/equalplayequalpay?src=hash">#equalplayequalpay</a> <a href="https://t.co/PNyOEd9cu4">pic.twitter.com/PNyOEd9cu4</a></p>— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) <a href="https://twitter.com/hopesolo/status/751225979901587456">July 8, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The women’s national team will play next month in the Rio Olympic Games and, afterward, they’ll return to the NWSL. Solo pledged that the women’s national team would direct all of the proceeds from its “Equal Play Equal Pay” T-shirt campaign to the NWSL Players Trust Fund.
“The ‘we know things aren’t up to par, but we’re going ahead with them anyway’ attitude, quite honestly, is a fairly accurate reflection of how the NWSL has functioned during the four years of its existence,” Solo wrote. “It’s far past time that the women in our league start being treated like professional athletes — otherwise, we might as well just admit that the NWSL is just a semi-pro league, and stop pretending like it’s the best women’s league in the world.”