WEBVTT - Competing With The Global Game with Jessica Berman 0:00:00.960 --> 0:00:02.880 Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're going 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:05.720 to need a full documentary about life in the Unrival 0:00:05.840 --> 0:00:08.600 facility during this four day one on one Attorney, the 0:00:08.600 --> 0:00:11.880 trash talking, the intimidation tactics, and the training room. 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:13.960 Sideie has got to be so good. 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:17.439 It's Tuesday, February eleventh, and on today's show, we'll talk 0:00:17.480 --> 0:00:20.639 to NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman about what the league makes 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.720 of the recent migration of top stars to Europe, whether 0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:26.320 the new CBA was a tough sell to owners, and 0:00:26.320 --> 0:00:28.040 whether we can expect the league to hold on to 0:00:28.160 --> 0:00:31.920 its values under the new presidential administration. Plus a Super 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:35.080 Bowl celebration we can get behind. Pro women's lacrosse is 0:00:35.120 --> 0:00:37.760 finally here, and your favorite players odds of winning on 0:00:37.880 --> 0:00:40.959 Rivals one B one Attorney just got slightly better. It's 0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:48.720 all coming up right after this welcome back slices. Here's 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:52.879 what you need to know today. Un Rivals one on 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:55.080 one Attorney got under way last night, and ahead of 0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:57.800 tip off, the league announced that just twenty three players 0:00:57.840 --> 0:01:00.800 of the original thirty would be taking part. This is 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:03.160 a decision that the league said was made quote due 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:05.640 to lingering injuries and to prioritize player well being for 0:01:05.680 --> 0:01:09.240 regular season games end quote. As a result, seven players 0:01:09.280 --> 0:01:11.920 will now receive buys for the first round, causing the 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:14.319 league to change up Monday's tourney schedule and hold just 0:01:14.400 --> 0:01:17.760 one evening session of games instead of both afternoon and evening. 0:01:18.040 --> 0:01:19.400 Now we're recording this before. 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:22.280 The one v one action tipped off, so in our reality, 0:01:22.600 --> 0:01:23.959 our brackets are still perfect. 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:24.960 Let's go team. 0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:28.160 The second round and the quarterfinals continued tonight at seven 0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:31.800 pm Eastern on True TV to the WNBA, where the 0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:34.679 Indiana Fever announced on Monday that the team has mutually 0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:37.480 parted ways with forward Katie Luce Samuelson, who was with 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:40.319 the franchise for one year, playing in thirty seven games 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:42.960 and averaging four point three points, just a year after 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:45.800 giving birth to her daughter. Because Samuelson was signed to 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:48.840 a protected veteran contract for twenty twenty five, she would 0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:51.440 have been entitled to receive her full salary in this situation, 0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:54.120 but typically a team and a player will instead agree 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:56.440 to a lower buyout number so the player takes a 0:01:56.440 --> 0:01:58.840 little less but can find a deal elsewhere as opposed 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:00.640 to being stuck where they're not one or having to 0:02:00.640 --> 0:02:01.520 wait to be waived. 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:03.960 Now, we'll be real with y'all. We were a little confused. 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:06.240 About how exactly this quote unquote divorce deal kind of 0:02:06.280 --> 0:02:09.359 thing works in the WNBA and why a player might 0:02:09.360 --> 0:02:11.320 agree to one and take less. So we'll link to 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:13.480 a story from Richard Cone at her Hoopstats that does 0:02:13.520 --> 0:02:16.400 a good job spelling out why players often sign deals 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:20.160 like these, even if it means they aren't pocketing guaranteed money. Samuelson, 0:02:20.160 --> 0:02:22.680 who's played with five different teams during her five seasons 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:25.200 in the league, is currently in Miami for Unrivaled, where 0:02:25.200 --> 0:02:27.760 she's a member of the Phantom Basketball Club, and per 0:02:27.960 --> 0:02:30.080 ESPN's Alexa Philippo, the six y three Forard has been 0:02:30.080 --> 0:02:33.280 in conversation with four WNBA teams. She'll be on the 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:35.799 waiver wire for five days, during which time any team 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:37.840 could agree to pick up the contract and salary she 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:40.320 signed with Indiana four and twenty twenty five about one 0:02:40.400 --> 0:02:43.560 hundred and eighty K per her Hoopstats, But after five days, 0:02:43.600 --> 0:02:46.120 if she hasn't claimed off waivers, she'll become an unrestricted 0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:49.880 free agent. To hockey, the PWHL is back in action tonight, 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:53.040 following a week and a half long pause for international competition. 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:56.239 The regular season resumes with the second place Minnesota Frost 0:02:56.240 --> 0:02:57.760 traveling to fourth place Toronto. 0:02:58.040 --> 0:02:58.840 We actually caught up. 0:02:58.800 --> 0:03:02.280 With Frost defender and badass med school student Claire Thompson 0:03:02.520 --> 0:03:04.960 from her hotel room ahead of tonight's game, so we'll 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:08.480 bring it that interview tomorrow. To lacrosse and the debut 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:09.800 of the Women's Lacrosse League. 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:10.520 Oh sorry. 0:03:10.880 --> 0:03:14.560 The Maybolene Women's Lacrosse League competition gets underway tonight as 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:16.240 part of a week long tournament that's part of the 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:20.280 plll's men's Championship Series. The Marilynd Charm and New York 0:03:20.400 --> 0:03:22.919 Charging play tonight. That game is at seven pm Eastern 0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:25.640 on ESPN Plus. Still no word on what the future 0:03:25.680 --> 0:03:28.360 of the WL is beyond this tourney, but regardless, we're 0:03:28.400 --> 0:03:30.600 excited to see these players take the field in the 0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:32.720 six's format that will also be used at the twenty 0:03:32.760 --> 0:03:37.160 twenty eight Olympics. To alpine skiing, American star Mikaela Shiffrin 0:03:37.200 --> 0:03:39.600 announced that she won't attempt to defend her world title 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:42.680 in the giant slalom at this week's World Championships in Austria. 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:45.920 Schiffrin said she's been dealing with PTSD following the crash 0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:48.880 in November that resulted in a deep puncture wound and 0:03:48.960 --> 0:03:52.080 severed oblique muscles, causing her to spend nearly two months 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:55.480 away from competition. In a statement shared with the Associated Press, 0:03:55.600 --> 0:03:58.440 Schiffrin said, quote, I'm mentally blocked in being able to 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:01.160 get to the next level of Payson's speed and putting 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:04.520 power into the turns, and that kind of mental psychological 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:06.600 like PTSDSQ struggle. 0:04:06.240 --> 0:04:08.080 Is more than I anticipated. End quote. 0:04:08.480 --> 0:04:12.160 Schiffrin, the most decorated alpine skier in modern World Championship history, 0:04:12.360 --> 0:04:14.840 said she still plans to enter Thursday slalom, as well 0:04:14.880 --> 0:04:16.880 as the slalom portion of the team event, a new 0:04:16.920 --> 0:04:20.320 event that gets under way today. Finally, we're sending our 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:23.159 best to former Iowa basketball player Ava Jones, who announced 0:04:23.200 --> 0:04:26.040 on social media that she's been diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma. 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:28.480 If you're not familiar with Jones, this is a kid 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:31.240 who has been through a lot. Back in twenty twenty two, 0:04:31.400 --> 0:04:33.920 just days after committing to the Hawkeyes, she and her 0:04:33.920 --> 0:04:36.000 family were walking on a sidewalk when they were struck 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:38.480 by a driver who was under the influence a crash 0:04:38.520 --> 0:04:41.680 that tragically killed her father, injured her mother, and left 0:04:41.680 --> 0:04:45.080 Ava with a brain injury. IOWA honored her basketball scholarship, 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:46.719 and she was on the team as a freshman before 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:49.240 she retired from the sport due to medical reasons. In 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:52.279 a post on social Ava wrote it for cancer diagnosis quote, 0:04:52.279 --> 0:04:54.320 this is the news no one ever wants to get, 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:56.560 but especially after spending the last two and a half 0:04:56.640 --> 0:04:58.960 years working my butt off and recovering from getting hit 0:04:58.960 --> 0:05:02.080 by a car, body is very strong and I'm confident 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:03.440 in the doctors here at Iowa. 0:05:03.680 --> 0:05:09.320 End quote. We're sending you our best, Ava, all right, Selicais. 0:05:09.400 --> 0:05:11.440 We want to give a quick shout out to Philadelphia 0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:14.920 Eagles assistant sports performance coach Autumn Lockwood, who became the 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:18.040 first black woman coach to win a Super Bowl on Sunday, 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:20.359 Way to Go, Autumn. As part of a future story 0:05:20.400 --> 0:05:23.520 published to the Philadelphia Eagles site earlier this month, Lockwood 0:05:23.560 --> 0:05:26.679 was asked about the importance of Black History Month. She said, quote, 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:28.760 Black History Month is important to me because it's a 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:31.640 time to celebrate the lives and accomplishments of all of 0:05:31.640 --> 0:05:33.760 those who have come before us and give them their 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:37.080 flowers for paving the way. It's dedicated and acknowledged. Time 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:39.360 to reflect on just how far we've come. It's a 0:05:39.400 --> 0:05:41.960 time to empower the current generation to continue to push 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:44.279 the needle in a positive direction. While we may not 0:05:44.320 --> 0:05:46.560 get to reap the benefits, I believe that by doing 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:48.760 good and what is right in the here and now, 0:05:48.920 --> 0:05:51.400 the future generations to come will live amongst each other 0:05:51.440 --> 0:05:54.120 in nothing but love and unity, becoming one like the 0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:57.400 one above wants for us end quote, make it history 0:05:57.440 --> 0:05:59.960 during Black History Month. That's something we love to see. 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:02.600 We'll link to that full feature, which includes interviews with 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:04.960 three other members of The Eagle staff. In our show notes, 0:06:05.240 --> 0:06:07.000 we're gonna take a quick break when we come back. 0:06:07.040 --> 0:06:10.360 My conversation with NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman, who I spoke 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:12.200 with last week at Radio Row in New Orleans. 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:13.320 Stick around. 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:23.120 Joining us now the commissioner of the National Women's Soccer 0:06:23.200 --> 0:06:25.960 League since twenty twenty two. A Michigan undergrad and a 0:06:25.960 --> 0:06:28.280 Fordham Law School product, she spent time with the National 0:06:28.279 --> 0:06:31.320 Football League and National Lacrosse League before joining the NWSL. 0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:34.120 Winner of the Sports Business Journals twenty twenty four, Executive 0:06:34.160 --> 0:06:36.840 of the Year Award and SI's twenty twenty four Innovator 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:39.640 of the Year. Mom of two occasionally mistaken for Marley 0:06:39.640 --> 0:06:42.560 Mattlin and one hell of a Dancer, it's Jessica Berman. 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:44.480 Oh, I love that intro, Hi. 0:06:44.600 --> 0:06:46.919 Anyone, thank you're Marley Mattlin and Radio Row Today. 0:06:47.480 --> 0:06:49.400 You're my first. But I have heard it before. 0:06:49.920 --> 0:06:53.479 I mean when we went to the NWSLPA party, the 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:55.719 first one in New York with fat Joe, who's more 0:06:55.800 --> 0:06:58.120 like sh medium Joe now. But when we went there 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:00.200 and we did the dancing in that one booth and 0:07:00.240 --> 0:07:03.159 I posted it to Instagram, Soon's like, is that Marley Mattlin? 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:04.440 I love it? Ye, I love it. 0:07:04.440 --> 0:07:06.160 That was a fun night, very fun. 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:08.200 I want to start with the biggest news of the 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:11.360 last couple weeks. We've seen a handful of players Naomi Germa, 0:07:11.440 --> 0:07:14.400 Crystal Dun, Jedda Niswang or head over to Europe. Should 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:18.160 the NWSL be worried about losing players to these European clubs? 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:21.680 Short answer, no, okay, It's part of the global game 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:26.120 and it's a testament to the interest in women's soccer everywhere. 0:07:26.200 --> 0:07:28.360 And when we say we want to be the best 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:30.840 league in the world. We know that there's competition for that. 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:32.800 It's going to keep us on our toes, keep us 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:35.120 on our game. And by the way, we took in 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:37.600 more players than we lost in this transfer window, so 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:40.520 we're excited about the players we brought in. We wish 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:43.120 the players who decided to go elsewhere the best of 0:07:43.200 --> 0:07:46.480 luck and look forward to welcoming them back when it's 0:07:46.520 --> 0:07:47.680 time for them to come home. 0:07:47.960 --> 0:07:50.200 That's such a great point. It's so jinguistic of us 0:07:50.200 --> 0:07:52.400 that we're like, how could they leave? But then when 0:07:52.440 --> 0:07:54.120 people come to us, it's not as big of a 0:07:54.160 --> 0:07:54.920 note to us. 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:57.200 We're like, look up the eleven players who came into 0:07:57.280 --> 0:07:59.520 our league in this transfer window, and if you don't 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:02.080 know their name now, you will when our season starts. 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:03.760 Well, we certainly saw that last year rite with ten 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:06.600 Wischhewinga and Barbara Bandon, all these new players coming in 0:08:06.640 --> 0:08:09.800 from foreign leagues. You know, the new CBA set a 0:08:09.880 --> 0:08:12.400 standard for player rights in autonomy. It also put the 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:15.560 league more in sync with global football rules and regulations 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:16.160 at schedule? 0:08:16.720 --> 0:08:18.720 Was that a hard sell to owners? What did those 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:20.760 negotiations look like on the league side? 0:08:21.080 --> 0:08:24.640 Surprisingly not to most people. It was actually our choice 0:08:24.720 --> 0:08:28.960 to approach the union and present something that was innovative, 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:32.960 and it was in truth driven by our owners. Coming 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:35.199 out of the Women's World Cup of twenty twenty three, 0:08:35.240 --> 0:08:37.960 it was clear to us that there was going to 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:41.040 be competition for our asserted claim of being the best 0:08:41.120 --> 0:08:43.440 league in the world, and in order to compete with 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:45.720 the global game, you need to play by their rules. 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:48.600 And so we've always said since twenty twenty two when 0:08:48.600 --> 0:08:50.880 I came, we were going to be really intentional about 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:53.800 the policies and protocols that we adopt from the men's 0:08:53.840 --> 0:08:55.920 leagues and the ones that we don't. This was one 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:59.760 that wasn't serving us any longer, and in a world 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:03.080 of global free agency, we didn't want to be different. 0:09:03.120 --> 0:09:05.960 We didn't want to have artificial impediments or obstacles to 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:08.520 bringing in the best in the world. And you've heard 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:12.280 comments from US men's national team players historically who decided 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:16.080 to go play overseas because they didn't appreciate that professional 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:19.760 women's soccer in the US was not in sync with 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:22.679 the rest of the world's rules. And so we remove 0:09:22.760 --> 0:09:26.480 those barriers and it's actually when I got the Innovator 0:09:26.520 --> 0:09:28.800 of the Year award from SI. It was in large 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:31.120 part because of that, and really testament goes to our 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:35.040 owners and the players who joined together to decide and 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:38.240 reimagine what was in the best interest of the NWSL 0:09:38.320 --> 0:09:38.920 moving forward. 0:09:39.160 --> 0:09:42.240 Yeah, and particularly obviously, abolishing the college draft is a 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:44.559 massive move for a professional, high level league in the 0:09:44.640 --> 0:09:47.560 United States. It's very interesting to see how people from 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:50.199 other leagues, particularly players will look over and be like, well, 0:09:50.240 --> 0:09:51.480 that looks nice. 0:09:51.320 --> 0:09:53.439 Funny to be here at the NFL. 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:56.200 Because my first interview after we made that announcement in 0:09:56.200 --> 0:09:58.400 August of twenty twenty four was do you think the 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:01.320 NFL is going to remove their I'm like, you know what. 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:06.199 I love that it's making people question because those decisions 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:08.959 to maintain or change your rules should always be intentional. 0:10:09.360 --> 0:10:11.720 It's easier to maintain the status quo, no doubt, but 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:14.319 you should pressure test all those asking. 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:15.200 Very different leagues. 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:17.960 It definitely serves the NWSL and makes it a better 0:10:18.040 --> 0:10:19.040 league to get rid of it. 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:20.200 Would it make the NFL a. 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:22.079 Better league when it's not as much of a global sport, 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:24.440 it doesn't have rules and regulations that they're trying to 0:10:24.640 --> 0:10:27.439 align with across the globe, But like you said, it's 0:10:27.440 --> 0:10:30.200 always worth asking because doing things because they've always been 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:32.720 done is never the right answer, never the right or anything, 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:33.600 and that's not how. 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:34.880 You win Innovator of the AAR Awards. 0:10:36.040 --> 0:10:38.720 Has the final language of that CBA been solidified because 0:10:38.720 --> 0:10:40.920 we saw the report of it being done months ago, 0:10:40.960 --> 0:10:42.360 but we haven't actually seen the document. 0:10:43.040 --> 0:10:47.320 I believe we're in the final I dots and T crossing. 0:10:47.240 --> 0:10:49.360 Between the dat above an eye is called a tittle. 0:10:49.920 --> 0:10:52.319 I've never heard that before, and I should have known 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:54.000 since I was a former labor lawyer. 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:56.800 But yeah, drafts have been going back and forth. 0:10:56.840 --> 0:11:01.000 I think we're down to like the final minutia and yeah, 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:03.960 it'll be out very soon and I'm sure shared by 0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:06.920 the NWSLPA and US when it's ready. But we are 0:11:06.960 --> 0:11:10.520 already operating under those rules. All of what our clubs 0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:13.880 and players need to know has already been communicated. It's 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:17.240 just formalizing the document and we're days away. 0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:17.559 Okay. 0:11:17.600 --> 0:11:19.000 So we used to wear the shirts that said it 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:20.400 is the schedule out yet? 0:11:20.400 --> 0:11:20.640 Meg? 0:11:20.960 --> 0:11:23.240 And now we're going to wear is the CBA out yet? 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:23.480 Meg? 0:11:24.120 --> 0:11:25.840 Until we see the doc perfect exactly. 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:29.720 We are seeing some impressive facility wars going on in 0:11:29.760 --> 0:11:33.800 the NWSL, new training centers being built, it is fantastic. 0:11:34.080 --> 0:11:36.400 It also further highlights the haves and have nots of 0:11:36.440 --> 0:11:38.280 the league, and I wonder if the league has an 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:42.800 interest in supporting or subsidizing the teams that have fewer investors, 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:46.160 lower revenue, or is your philosophy that those places will 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:49.520 eventually be forced to catch up or shut up shop. 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:54.720 I believe that investors in sports are inherently competitive, and 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:58.120 I believe that the incentives are aligned in our league 0:11:58.200 --> 0:12:02.520 to force everyone to think about how they're going to 0:12:02.520 --> 0:12:05.800 retract and recruit the best players, and free agency is 0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:08.680 going to be a forcing function for that. If you 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:10.840 look at where we are today versus where we were 0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:13.559 a year ago or even three months ago, since then, 0:12:14.080 --> 0:12:19.440 five new teams have either announced or actually are opening 0:12:19.679 --> 0:12:22.640 a brand new purpose built training facility. So that is 0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:26.240 angel City that already announced that they're opening, Portland, I believe, 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:30.080 announced yesterday, we have they in process of being built, 0:12:30.120 --> 0:12:33.240 and of course our two expansion teams in Denver and Boston. 0:12:33.400 --> 0:12:36.840 So between those five plus the ones that already have them, 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:39.360 more than half of our league will have purpose built 0:12:39.400 --> 0:12:42.880 training facilities by twenty twenty six, and no one could 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:45.200 have imagined that three years ago. So it is happening, 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:48.719 and we have ongoing conversations right now with all of 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:50.960 our owners thinking about the ways in which they can 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:56.280 leverage public private partnerships, support school districts, identify other sources 0:12:56.280 --> 0:12:58.439 of capital, and all of the options are on the 0:12:58.520 --> 0:13:02.600 table about how we can incentivize and support and motivate 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:05.000 that investment, which is obviously great for the game. 0:13:05.400 --> 0:13:07.720 So in your opinion, it is worth trying to at 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:10.840 least lend a hand to teams that have struggled or 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:13.480 are struggling and see if they can get themselves elevated. 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:16.720 Before the answer is simply let them drop off if 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:17.080 they can't. 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:20.200 Hang, we're doing it already. I mean we see all 0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:23.679 of the changes that are happening. I often quote Rick 0:13:23.720 --> 0:13:27.679 Welts from the NBA, who is an original David Stern 0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:31.000 disciple built the Golden State Warriors, recently announced to be 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:34.839 the CEO in Dallas, and he told me, I'll never 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:39.040 forget this when we had breakfast last year. The reason 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:41.200 you're so exhausted is because you all have done in 0:13:41.240 --> 0:13:43.079 two years what it took the NBA. 0:13:42.880 --> 0:13:43.840 Twenty five years to do. 0:13:44.240 --> 0:13:46.480 And I think about that often because in the first 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:51.360 two years that everyone we brought in came into the league, 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:55.840 we sold nine of our fourteen teams. The change is 0:13:55.880 --> 0:13:58.440 happening so quickly. I don't know that we would want 0:13:58.480 --> 0:14:01.800 to force it to happen faster, because those changes require 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:06.360 time and intentionality and digestion in the system. And there's 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:10.160 hundreds of millions of dollars coming into the professional women's game, 0:14:10.160 --> 0:14:13.000 and we want that to be done strategically and thoughtfully 0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:16.600 so that we accomplish our ultimate objective of creating a viable, 0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:17.880 sustainable business. 0:14:18.120 --> 0:14:19.560 Yeah, it's so true, and we talk about that a 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:23.400 lot in terms of giving people context for how attendance 0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:25.600 and viewership and investment and money and everything works on 0:14:25.640 --> 0:14:27.840 the women's side. When you don't have one hundred year 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:29.760 head start or a thirty year head start or whatever 0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:31.880 it is. You recently said, there's no reason in the 0:14:31.960 --> 0:14:35.280 ENWSL couldn't expand to thirty teams. What does the timeline 0:14:35.280 --> 0:14:35.960 look like on that. 0:14:35.920 --> 0:14:40.960 Then, I think it's going to be evaluate and see. 0:14:41.720 --> 0:14:44.200 Most important thing is that as we expand, we do 0:14:44.320 --> 0:14:48.680 it without compromising the quality of the competition and the 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:52.120 quality of the business. And as I was just alluding 0:14:52.120 --> 0:14:54.800 to in the other context, as it relates to infrastructure, 0:14:55.400 --> 0:15:01.800 ingesting new teams requires holistic setting of expectations in terms 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:04.680 of how technical staff is distributed, in terms of the 0:15:04.720 --> 0:15:08.480 pipeline for talent, as it relates to players, all of 0:15:08.520 --> 0:15:12.600 the fandom, the media value, the sponsorship that we're selling, 0:15:12.760 --> 0:15:14.360 to make sure all of it is in line with 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:16.880 not where we were, but where we are, and so 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:19.920 it has to be done thoughtfully. We've done what I 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:24.120 described shorthand two by two for the last essentially six years, 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:27.400 which is a tremendous amount of growth, and we have 0:15:27.480 --> 0:15:29.200 to make sure that we have the infrastructure in place 0:15:29.240 --> 0:15:31.960 at the league office to make sure that we operationalize 0:15:31.960 --> 0:15:34.920 that successfully because there's nothing more important than that for 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:39.240 increasing values of teams. So bottom line is time will tell. 0:15:39.520 --> 0:15:41.520 As part of the recent settlement regarding the league's role 0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:43.960 in widespread allegations of abuse, it's creating a five million 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:46.520 dollar player compensation fund and could be hit with up 0:15:46.520 --> 0:15:48.320 to two million dollars in penalties if it defaults on 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:51.000 any terms of an agreement that includes things like vetting coaches, 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:53.880 front office staff fires, creating multiple ways for players to 0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:57.520 report misconduct, dedicated HR staffers for every team, and more. 0:15:57.840 --> 0:15:59.960 How do you plan to ensure that each team complies? 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:03.680 Because there's been an incredible predominance of this across the 0:16:03.760 --> 0:16:07.720 league and so many different coaches and owners and spaces, 0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:10.280 it's hard to understand why it's so common and also 0:16:10.360 --> 0:16:11.560 how it continues happening. 0:16:12.320 --> 0:16:15.120 Well, first of all, I would say that it isn't 0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:20.760 endemic to the NWSL. It's endemic to women and girls' sports, 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:23.480 and so we were the focal point of it, and 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:27.479 that gave us an opportunity to reset expectations and institute 0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:30.880 the necessary systemic reform and policies and protocols that will 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:33.960 change the game forever. We are very confident that we've 0:16:34.000 --> 0:16:34.320 done that. 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:36.120 It will continue to be an. 0:16:36.120 --> 0:16:39.040 Evaluated process where we make sure that we're continuing to 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:41.800 be best in class. We didn't actually make a big 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:44.440 deal about it, but in twenty twenty four we were 0:16:44.480 --> 0:16:47.600 the first professional sports league men or women to be 0:16:47.680 --> 0:16:50.800 recognized by the Center for Human Rights in Sport as 0:16:51.040 --> 0:16:54.320 best in class on these types of safeguarding health and 0:16:54.360 --> 0:16:58.240 safety issues. We couldn't be doing more than we're doing 0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:01.520 to ensure that the system is safe and is a 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:04.359 place that is welcoming and makes everyone in the ecosystem, 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:07.159 players included, of course, proud to play. 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:07.960 That is our goal. 0:17:08.000 --> 0:17:09.960 That is what the standard by which we will continue 0:17:09.960 --> 0:17:13.560 to evaluate ourselves, and we know that that is critical 0:17:13.560 --> 0:17:15.919 to our future success. This will always be part of 0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:19.320 our history, and it's a dark time that no one 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:22.679 enjoys talking about, but we can't ignore it. And this 0:17:22.840 --> 0:17:24.840 was a reminder that it is still there and it 0:17:24.880 --> 0:17:27.200 is still part of our story, and we're going to 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:30.080 continue to face it down and make sure we do 0:17:30.280 --> 0:17:33.000 all of the hard things that are necessary to make 0:17:33.040 --> 0:17:34.000 the league a success. 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:36.960 We just talked about players feeling safe, and you said 0:17:36.960 --> 0:17:39.680 in November that the league's values wouldn't change after Donald 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:42.840 Trump became president. Again, do you feel empowered to remain 0:17:42.880 --> 0:17:45.240 committed to that moving forward, especially as we're seeing things 0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:48.280 like the recent executive orders. Does the league policy change 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:50.440 it all on trans athletes? Does anything change as the 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:52.119 results of what might come from above. 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:56.320 Our focus is on maintaining our core values no matter 0:17:56.400 --> 0:17:59.800 who is president, no matter what the political climate, There 0:17:59.920 --> 0:18:03.520 is no doubt and our fans tell us consistently that 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:06.520 the NWSL is a place that gives them a sense 0:18:06.560 --> 0:18:09.360 of belonging, that makes them feel seen, that makes them 0:18:09.359 --> 0:18:14.080 feel heard. And we're confident that there are so many 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:17.040 people in our country that want that, that enjoy that, 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:20.200 and we have no reason to question or doubt whether 0:18:20.280 --> 0:18:23.040 that is something that will be supported from a business perspective. 0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:25.119 And so we're going to continue to do all the 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:27.520 things that got us here over the last few years 0:18:28.000 --> 0:18:31.040 and lean into the things that make us unique and 0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:35.000 differentiated in the marketplace and be a beacon of hope 0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:37.359 and light for people who are looking for the things 0:18:37.359 --> 0:18:38.320 that we have to offer. 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:40.600 I love that. I know you've got to run. We're 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:41.480 going to have you on again. 0:18:41.520 --> 0:18:42.480