The National Women’s Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA) has expressed its position on the incident that occurred during the match between Angel City FC and Utah Royals last Friday.
The match was affected by a delay of almost 10 minutes due to medical attention provided to Angel City defender Savy King.
The NWSLPA has urged the NWSL to review its protocols and suspend any match that requires life-saving emergency measures. King was transported to a local hospital in Los Angeles after collapsing on the field.
Angel City reported that King underwent surgery on Tuesday after a heart anomaly was discovered. The team stated that her “prognosis is excellent”.
Friday’s match resumed and concluded after King was taken off the field. The players from both teams showed shock and joined together in the center circle at the end of the match.
These moments demand humanity, good judgment, and restraint. Any medical emergency requiring life-saving attention should stop the game. The match should not have continued.
NWSLPA
The association emphasized that incidents of this severity must prioritize humanity and automatically suspend the match. The NWSLPA is committed to establishing this as the standard in the NWSL.
The player Trinity Rodman, star of the Washington Spirit and the United States national team, posted on social media that the match should not have continued.
The NWSL issued a statement on Saturday stating that the league’s protocols were followed from a medical and game operations perspective, and that its processes will be further evaluated.
The NWSL did not specify what those protocols are, nor who made the final decision to continue the match, which Angel City won 2-0. On Wednesday, the league issued another statement:
The safety of the players is paramount for the NWSL. The seriousness of this incident requires a deliberate process that is careful and methodical. That process is underway and will include the necessary reviews that prioritize the consideration of the well-being of the players, staff, and fans. Please continue to respect Savy’s privacy.
NWSL
