In the sixth minute, play came to a halt as players from the North Carolina Courage and Racing Louisville FC joined at the center circle for a minute of silence in recognition of the six years it took for Mana Shim, Sinead Farrelly and all those who fought for too long to be heard.
Just prior to the sixth minute of the early kickoff between NJ/NY Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit, the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association announced the minute’s silence alongside a list of demands and a notice to the media that players would refuse to answer any questions not related to abuse and systematic change in the NWSL.
Courage players and coaches were not made available to the media postgame out of respect for the players’ request for time and space to process and support one another.
The NWSLPA’s full list of eight demands were posted on Twitter and revolve around a demand for additional accountability and transparency within the league.
Returning to the field for the first time since Meg Linehan’s bombshell report, the NC Courage beat Racing Louisville FC 3-1 in an emphatic display on Wednesday, Oct. 6.
Before the game, midfielder Meredith Speck took to Twitter and said, “… tonight is less of a return and more of a beginning of something special. #thisisforus”
From when they entered the field for warm ups, to the minute’s silence, to when they returned after the half, the players were given applause from the crowd, many of whom were wearing black to show their support for the players.
The Courage wasted no time, jumping out to a 2-0 lead inside of 20 minutes thanks to goals from forwards Lynn Williams and Amy Rodriguez. Within the first half hour, fans were treated to four total goals as Louisville’s Savannah McCaskill got in on the fun with a screamer in the 24th minute, and Debinha added another for the Courage in the 30th.
The showdown with Louisville also marked Courage midfielder Denise O’Sullivan’s 100th appearance, while Williams tied Sam Kerr for the most career regular-season shots (not including blocked shots).
Hours before kickoff, Club Owner and Chairman Steve Malik put out a letter about the events of the past week. In the letter, Malik offered an answer to the question of how much the club knew about the 2015 investigation into the now-fired Paul Riley when the club decided to hire him.
“When we bought the Western NY Flash in 2017, we conducted due diligence to continue with Mr. Riley and the coaching staff,” Malik said in the letter. “We were made aware of an investigation into Mr. Riley’s behavior in 2015 and were subsequently assured that he was in good standing. During his employment with the Courage, we had no knowledge of allegations of sexual harassment or coercion. When we learned of the horrific allegations in last week’s reporting, we took those seriously and immediately terminated Mr. Riley.”
For many, Malik’s response has raised even more questions about who told the club Riley was in good standing after the 2015 investigation that saw the Portland Thorns choose to not renew his contract.
The Courage will be back in action on Sunday, Oct. 9 as they head to Houston for a showdown with the Dash. The Oct. 1 game against the Washington Spirit, which was postponed at the request of the NWSLPA, has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 13.
