NWSL GMs: Player reforms ‘gone too far’ since abuse cases

Two years after allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse rocked the NWSL, some league general managers are now voicing concerns that reforms for players have “gone too far,” a survey by ESPN found, which has prompted pushback from the players association.

In an anonymous ESPN survey of GMs from each of the league’s 14 teams, all unanimously said that the culture of the league has undergone a drastic shift in accountability since a pair of investigations in 2022 uncovered systemic abuse across the NWSL.

But a prevailing sentiment was that “the pendulum has swung too far the other way,” a phrase two separate GMs used verbatim.

“I think it’s still a very stressful place for staff,” a GM said. “I think you have to be very calculated in every conversation, every interaction that you have with athletes. We have to err on the side of extremely positive or conservative policies that I think in any other professional or corporate environment wouldn’t really necessarily exist.”

Last month, the league and the players’ association signed a new six-year collective bargaining agreement that grants total free agency upon the expiration of contracts, the elimination of player drafts, a higher salary cap, a sizable increase in minimum salaries and expanded parental…