NWSL Players Association announces league has agreed to list of demands

The National Women’s Soccer League Players Association announced Friday that the NWSL agreed to meet all demands put forth by the union amid allegations of verbal abuse and sexual coercion of players. 

The agreement comes after NWSL interim CEO Marla Messing made a public declaration on October 20 in which she stated that the league had agreed to the union’s demands 'in principle'.

"Each of these demands is seen by the players as one step closer to the goal of taking our league back," said NWSLPA president Tori Huster.

The NWSLPA first issued the demands on October 6 in a list format that highlighted eight specific initiatives to protect the players. The document included the requirement that league personnel voluntarily take part in the union’s investigation of sexual misconduct, and the request of absolute transparency by the league in any other ongoing investigations. 

The union also requested to be included in the process for selecting the next official league commissioner. 

All demands were met. 

"Today is a major step in protecting player safety moving forward, but this is just the beginning," the NWSLPA said on its Twitter account.

The union added that the league agreed to a "transparent investigation" overseen by a five-person committee, including two representatives from the NWSLPA, one from the NWSL, one club representative and one jointly selected neutral party.

"The scope of the investigation will broadly review any instances of inappropriate conduct, and seek to identify systemic failures to protect player health and safety," the NWSL said.

After the news broke, the NWSL issued a public statement:

"We are pleased to have reached this agreement to collaborate with the Players Association on the investigation announced by the NWSL on October 3rd.

"As a league, we are committed to making the systemic and cultural changes necessary to create a safe environment for our players and staff, and today's agreement to proceed with a joint investigation is an important next step in that process."