Update: Oct. 2, 2021

On Friday, the National Women’s Soccer League announced that they received and accepted Commissioner Lisa Baird’s resignation. She had served as  commissioner since February 2020. NWSL has not announced an interim appointment.

Original Story:

The Washington Spirit will not play their previously scheduled game Friday night, after the National Women’s Soccer League announced the cancellation of all of this weekend’s matches. The news comes in the wake of investigations into the league’s handling of abuse allegations against team leaders.

“I am so sorry for the pain so many are feeling. Recognizing that trauma, we have decided not to take the field this weekend to give everyone some space to reflect,” League Commissioner Lisa Baird said in a statement. “Business as usual isn’t our concern right now. Our entire league has a great deal of healing to do, and our players deserve so much better. We have made this decision in collaboration with our players association and this pause will be the first step as we collectively work to transform the culture of this league, something that is long overdue.”

The Spirit was scheduled to play the North Carolina Courage tonight at 7 p.m. in Cary, N.C. Both teams have faced reckonings in the wake of abuse allegations against their coaches. The NWSL conducted an investigation into Spirit coach Richie Burke, who was accused by former players in August of verbal abuse. The league announced earlier this week that Burke had been fired, following the investigation. The Courage’s coach, Paul Riley, was also fired this week following multiple players’ accusations of sexual coercion.

In the wake of the allegations, the league’s union, the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association, called for changes that would protect players from abuse and harassment. “We will no longer be complicit in a culture of silence that has enabled abuse and exploitation in our league and in our sport,” the association wrote in a statement on Thursday. The group also created an anonymous hotline “to ensure that any player wishing to submit a report can do so anonymously and without fear of retaliation.”

It was not immediately clear if this weekend’s games will be rescheduled. Representatives for the NWSL and the Spirit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This post has been updated to include that the NWSL and Spirit have not responded to requests for comment, and that Lisa Baird has resigned.