Across sports, it’s not unusual to see athletes consider returning to their original teams later in their careers. Players often take the opportunity to build on first experiences and re-mold personal legacies while etching their names in team lore. But for Kelley O’Hara, a move back to New Jersey would probably surprise her past self.
“I would have never considered coming back a couple years ago,” said the two-time World Champion defender, speaking to the media in her introductory press conference after officially signing with Gotham FC in her first year of free agency.
While the first free agency announcement (though not quite the first signing, since the deal was finalized this week) in NWSL history made unprecedented waves, O’Hara is no stranger to New Jersey.
“I was driving out to the facility yesterday, going to PT and just being in Jersey just felt so good. I was like, dang, it’s good to be back here,” she said.
O’Hara played for Sky Blue FC from 2013-17, but she says that her new club bears little resemblance to the one she left in turmoil, even beyond the team’s 2020 rebrand to Gotham FC. Sky Blue in 2017 was a troubled club in the final year of disgraced former manager Christy Holly’s tenure as coach,
