Sporting Her had the pleasure of being amongst the assembled press core for the NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman’s state of the league address in New York City this week. The commissioner spoke on a variety of issues. As far ranging as the introduction of VAR to the state of play with the league’s proposed expansion by 2024.
The Commissioner was incredibly forthcoming, and was very open on a number of topics. For me, personally, there were a few things that stood out:
- Jessica Berman spoke candidly about the on-going NWSLPA joint investigations into allegations of alleged misconduct on the part of Houston Dash head coach James Clarkson and the Orlando Pride pairing of Amanda Cromwell and Sam Greene. Berman said the matter was one of the utmost importance and was deemed a ‘priority for the league’. The Commissioner hopes the matter will be concluded soon, although she stopped short of giving a time frame.
- The Commissioner also spoke at length about the implementation of VAR across the NWSL from 2023. Berman spoke about VAR being ‘the best thing we could do to improve officiating’.
- Berman spoke of wanting to re-evaluate the league’s policy on transgender athletes. She also spoke to the role local state governance will play in any future potential expansion markets. Particularly in light of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs Wade. Berman said the league is monitoring the effects of any laws ‘that don’t match the leagues values’ in current markets.
- The Commissioner also spoke of the importance of forging relationships with other leagues. I asked her if the league had, had the chance to speak with other leagues about VAR, and had they collaborated in anyway. Berman told me they had spoken to other leagues and taken their experiences under advisement.
- The NWSL is also set to appoint a sporting director to be her ‘personal adviser on women’s soccer’. She was remarkably honest about how she’s still getting used to the sport. Berman isn’t afraid to leen on the shoulders of others. For Berman, I got the sense that any future sporting director was going to be key to the Commissioner’s ability to understand the particular nuances of soccer. She is fairly new to the world of soccer after all, having held a number of roles in hockey and lacrosse.
For the full video footage of NWSL press conference with Commissioner Jessica Berman, see below.
Written by Dan Berridge
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