PHF Roundup: Season Eight, Week Ten
Recapping a game between the Connecticut Whale and Montreal Force as well as the PHF's All-Star Game in Toronto.
It's been three days' and six games' worth of action in the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup. The tournament kicked off with a match that drew an average of 527,000 viewers on CBS. It feels like we've seen everything in these first games – from rusty play to late-match drama on the field, from public praise to controversy.
That off-the-pitch narrative centers around the Black Lives Matter movement, in light of the ongoing nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism. Most teams held conversations where they discussed the role of race and the possibility of taking a knee for the national anthem, a position first taken by Colin Kaepernick in 2016 to call attention to police brutality in the United States and its disproportionate impact on Black and Brown communities.
To show their support, players warmed up in Black Lives Matter t-shirts, and wore BLM armbands during the game. Many took a knee during the national anthem as well, and again for 46 seconds after taking the field in acknowledgement of the eight minutes and 46 seconds that a police officer knelt on George Floyd's neck.
The discourse surrounding the anthem gained traction, specifically centering on a Black player's display of pain and trauma and, on the flip side of things, those who chose to stand. The coverage of this controversy extended far beyond the coverage usually given to this league – which begs the question of why, time and time again, mainstream media only pays attention to women's sports when there's something negative or "controversial" to talk about. The NWSL's response didn't help matters; it presented players with the additional option of staying in the locker room during the anthem, while declaring its support to both those who chose to take a knee and those who chose to stand.
There are conversations to be had about whether or not we should be playing the national anthem at all before domestic sporting events. I personally think that we should not. But I'm not focusing on that here. Instead, I want to make a space for the words of Casey Short and Julie Ertz:
Our narrative ♥️ pic.twitter.com/VRJOpITuW9
— Casey Short (@CaseyShort3) June 30, 2020
The games have been exciting, and it's wonderful to have live soccer back in the United States (though the possible consequences of resuming live sports during a pandemic are still concerning).
That said, I want to focus on some of the highlights we've seen from Black women in these opening NWSL matches.
The cross, the header, and the follow through. Let's take a closer look at our first #NWSLChallengeCup goal. #BAONPDX pic.twitter.com/PoAXnAVoPv
— Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) June 30, 2020
A debut fit for a 👸@tziarra scores her first professional goal.
— NWSL (@NWSL) June 30, 2020
3-3 | #HOUvUTA
Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/IHsIFh6W07
lindsey horan NUTMEG but addisyn merrick recovers perfectly pic.twitter.com/QI1oXbWjGu
— justin block* (@JBlock49) June 27, 2020
"It's not IF Lynn Williams will punish you, but WHEN."@lynnraenie with a solo masterpiece 🖼
— NWSL (@NWSL) July 2, 2020
0-1 | #WASvNC
Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/rcCmik93p9
Games are streamed in the United States on CBS All Access and for international viewers on Twitch.
(Photo credit: Bryan Byerly/ISI Photos)