The National Women’s Soccer League said that it would abandon future games when players have life-threatening emergencies, acknowledging Friday that the game should have ended after Angel City’s Savy King collapsed on the field during a match on May 9.
Play resumed after roughly 10 minutes of medical attention, and the game between Angel City and the Utah Royals was completed. King subsequently underwent surgery for a heart abnormality discovered after her collapse.
The NWSL Players Association said this week that the game should not have continued, and the union called for future games to be abandoned because of medical emergencies.
“Having reviewed our protocols and how they were implemented, and in listening to feedback from our stakeholders, the Angel City vs Utah game last Friday night should not have continued,” the NWSL said in a statement issued to ESPN on Friday. “The health and well being of the entire NWSL community remains our top priority, and in any similar situation going forward the game should and would be abandoned.”
In a later statement posted on social media, the league added that it “regret” that the game continued.
The players’ association welcomed the league’s announcement.
“The League’s acknowledgment that the game should have ended — and its commitment to adopting protocol for the future, should it ever be needed — represents a meaningful step forward,” it said in a statement. “It’s a change made possible by the strength and unity of our players.
“Player safety is not a slogan. It is a practice. We are grateful that NWSL has listened.”
King collapsed with about 15 minutes left in the game on May 9. The 20-year-old was carted off the field and taken to a hospital in Los Angeles, where Angel City said at the time that she was responsive.
Angel City said Tuesday that King’s “prognosis is excellent” after doctors discovered a heart abnormality and performed surgery. The club, league, players’ association and family asked in separate statements that King’s privacy be respected.
Players from both Angel City FC and Utah Royals FC were visibly shaken as King received medical attention. After the match, players from both teams locked arms at the center circle of the field in prayer for King.
“In those moments, I’m not sure if we should have continued the game,” Utah head coach Jimmy Coenraets said after the match. “You’re emotionally — not only them, but also our players, were just scared and I think that’s not the right position or not the right situation to be in. But in the end, that’s a decision that other people are making. But I think it was really a tough moment.”
Angel City forward Christen Press, who scored the winning goal in the 2-0 victory, called it “a really emotional game” after the match. “That’s really all I can think about right now.”
Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman, who has been sidelined with a back injury, weighed in on Instagram.
“Prayers for Savy King as well as her loved ones and the players that were on that field. In no world should that game have continued,” Rodman wrote.
King was the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NWSL draft after playing one season at North Carolina. She was traded from Bay FC to Angel City, her hometown NWSL team, in the offseason.
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