"The ink had barely dried on the paperwork for the blockbuster transfer of forward Alyssa Thompson to Chelsea, from Angel City FC, before U.S. women's national team coach Emma Hayes was in New York to address the NWSL's board of governors. Hayes already knew that some NWSL executives were suggesting she was telling USWNT players that they needed to play in Europe. Thompson's move, driven by Chelsea's aggressive pursuit of the winger, was a tipping point that gave the longstanding rumors new life and set in motion a certain degree of panic inside NWSL circles."
"So, Hayes took her own advice that she shared with media last year on her first official day on the job. "In the absence of communication," she said, there is "usually the wrong type of conversation." Hayes stood in front of the boardroom of owners and NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman last month and, multiple sources told ESPN, asked them a simple question: Women's soccer players have fought their entire lives for freedom of choice. Why would I take that away from them?"
Alyssa Thompson's transfer from Angel City FC to Chelsea immediately prompted concern within the NWSL about elite American talent moving to Europe. Emma Hayes traveled to New York and addressed the league's board of governors, confronting rumors that she had advised USWNT players to play abroad and emphasizing that players deserve freedom of choice. Hayes invoked her prior admonition about the consequences of poor communication and asked owners why players' autonomy should be limited. The episode underscores tension between NWSL leadership and the shifting global marketplace for top women's soccer players, as player mobility increases.
Read at ESPN.com
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