In the wake of current Juventus midfielder Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir’s successful lawsuit against former club Olympique Lyon for withholding her salary while she was on maternity leave, U.S. women’s national team star Alex Morgan shared her thoughts on how professional clubs can support the mothers on their rosters.
“Through Sara’s story, I feel compelled to express how at the very least a team can support their player that’s a mom,” she wrote on Twitter. Morgan had her daughter Charlie in 2020 and has played for the Orlando Pride and the San Diego Wave as a mother. She also played briefly for Women’s Super League side Tottenham Hotspur while on loan in 2020.
Morgan went on to list resources mothers need on away trips to be able to play at their best. Resources on the road came up in Gunnarsdóttir’s dispute with Lyon, as the Iceland captain told The Player’s Tribune that she did not feel her son was welcome to travel with her.
“The understanding between us just was not there, and I felt that,” she wrote. “They always made me feel like it was a negative thing that I had a baby.”
Morgan’s suggestions were as follows:
“1. Providing…