DAily Column – 7th OCtober 2021


The CEO and the controlling owner of the soccer team of Washington Spirit, Steve Baldwin resigned from his position yesterday as a scandal related to sexual harassment had deepened all over the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) which is known as the top soccer league for women in the United States.

Baldwin had been facing pressure for stepping down after Richie Burke the Spirit Coach got fired when a report from a Washington Post revealed that has emotionally and verbally abused the players.

Richie Burke was the second coach of NWSL who got fired the previous week. Paul Riley was sacked by the North California Courage after The Athletic’s report saying that The Athletic had spoken to over a dozen athletes who have played under the guidance of Riley and he was accused of sexual coercion by the athletes.

Lisa Baird, the commissioner of the league had resigned last Friday and many games had got cancelled over the weekend.

However, NWSL had made the most success it has ever had

NWSL was the 1st league of pro sports to return from a pandemic in June 2020 and it had also found a bigger set of audience. Viewership rose to nearly 300 per cent in the last season and the credit goes to the partnerships of Twitch and CBS Sports.

Also, the NWSL had reached Hollywood. Angel City FC, an expansion team which was based in Los Angeles is owned by the A-listers like Natalia Portman, Mia Hamm and  Serena Williams. Naomi Osaka, the star of Tennis had bought a stake in the team of NWSL North California Courage. The league was locked with deals of sponsorships with Google, Verizon and Procter & Gamble.

The players had experienced differently. Alex Morgan, the soccer legend had criticized the response of NWSL to the complaints of sexual harassment, she called it a “systematic failure” on the Today show on 5th October 2021.


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