The abuse, misconduct and negligence permeating the NWSL — most recently highlighted by the Athletic’s shocking story about the predatory nature of former NC Courage coach Paul Riley — dropped like a bomb in the American soccer landscape. The NWSL canceled this weekend’s slate of games at the request of the players, who were understandably in no mood to play.
Eventually, the show will go on, but the repercussions are likely to linger like a nuclear winter. With the NWSL demonstrably in no position to police itself, the organization tasked with the unpleasant duty of trying to sort through the damage and clean up the mess is the U.