Insofar as there seemingly is no such thing as a “normal” regular season in the National Women’s Soccer League, the 2021 campaign was the league’s most eventful yet.
As the No. 4 seed Chicago Red Stars head into their sixth straight postseason Sunday — when they host the fifth-seeded NJ/NY Gotham FC at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview (2 p.m., CBSSN) — the NWSL begins the playoffs seeking some sense of normalcy after a season marred by controversy.
OL Reign coach Farid Benstiti resigned in July for allegedly making “inappropriate comments to players regarding their fitness and nutrition,” according to the Washington Post.
Later that month, Gotham general manager Alyse LaHue was fired after an investigation related to the league’s anti-harassment policy. LaHue, who previously was the Red Stars GM, denied the accusation through her attorney in a statement to the Athletic.
On Aug. 31, Racing Louisville FC fired coach Christy Holly “for cause.” Few details of his termination have emerged.
Washington Spirit coach Richie Burke was fired in late September following an investigation after a Washington Post report detailed allegations of verbal abuse, including allegedly making racially insensitive jokes.
In an Athletic story published days after Burke’s firing, former players accused Paul Riley, one of the league’s most successful coaches, of sexual coercion over the course of several years. The report resulted in not only Riley’s firing from the North Carolina Courage and the suspension of his U.S. Soccer coaching license, but also the resignation of Commissioner Lisa Baird and ousting of league general counsel Lisa Levine.
During the first match of the preseason Challenge Cup in April, Red Stars defender Sarah Gorden said she and her boyfriend were racially profiled by stadium security in Houston. That resulted in fines to front office staff for speaking out but the league’s investigation ultimately resulted in no disciplinary action.
And if those incidents weren’t enough, the NWSL relocated this season’s final from Portland, Ore., to Louisville, Ky., at the request of the players. The final would have been played at 9 a.m. Pacific time had it stayed in Portland to align with the TV time slot on CBS, a league broadcast partner.
The incidents resulted in more players speaking out to address issues in the league and a stronger push by the NWSL Players Association to effect change, which has included the creation of a committee to investigate abuse claims.
“There were a couple weeks where I think everyone was like, ‘I don’t know how we’re going to continue to play, I don’t know how we’re going to do this,’” Red Stars forward Kealia Watt, a union representative, said Friday during a conference call. “It was just so much. And obviously the victims who spoke out and maybe the victims who haven’t spoken out and have endured abuse like that, it is even harder for them. So I don’t know how as a whole we got through that.
“Since that, some huge changes have been made that needed to be made, honestly. And in the past, I don’t know if those changes would have happened.”
Red Stars coach Rory Dames praised the players for being able to bring about off-field change while finishing the season.
“We just followed the players’ lead on it and the players have been great,” Dames said. “They’ve worked themselves back in, they took time when they felt they needed time. They had optional training days, and then once they got back into the flow, the performances on the field speak for themselves.”
And, of course, there is a game to be played Sunday.
The Red Stars (11-8-5, 38 points) enter the postseason on a three-game winning streak, but they’ll be facing a Gotham side they went 0-1-2 against this season, including a scoreless draw in the home opener in Bridgeview.
Unlike previous seasons in which they were viewed as one of the top teams, the Red Stars have had to battle for results this season in part because of lengthy injuries to starting goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and captain Julie Ertz.
“It’s a little different experience this year,” Dames said. “In the previous years we felt a lot of pressure because we felt that we were one of the one or two top teams in the league. And I don’t think there’s that dominant team this year — and that’s no disrespect to Portland, because they’ve won everything.
“But I think in the previous two or three years that we had playoffs, Carolina was pretty clearly the dominant team that everybody was chasing and you’d have to be really good on the day to get them. I don’t think that team exists this year.”
The winner Sunday will get the chance to test Dames’ theory with a trip to play the No. 1 seed Portland Thorns, who won both the preseason Challenge Cup tournament and the NWSL Shield for having the best regular-season record.
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Chicago Red Stars enter the playoffs with less pressure and a 'different experience' after a season defined by controversy in the NWSL - Chicago Tribune
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