Why should players believe it’s changing?

It’s one thing for the decision-makers around women’s soccer to vow, after a year plagued by off-field problems, that they are finally listening to the players. It’s apparently quite another thing for everyone to actually do it.

Look no further than the Washington Spirit, where an ugly and unnecessary ownership battle has finally ended after months of tumult even though the resolution had been obvious from the very beginning. Steve Baldwin, the club’s majority investor accused of fostering a toxic “old boys’ club” built on cronyism, finally sold his stake in the club to Y. Michele Kang, the minority investor the players backed all along.

It was something Baldwin should have done months ago. In October, all of the Spirit’s players publicly admitted they had asked Baldwin to step aside from being involved in the club’s management after “all the infractions committed by the club and abuse we experienced,” something he failed to do. Thus, the players said, they were asking him to sell the club to Kang, the woman who had emerged as Baldwin’s main adversary within the Spirit ownership group.

The players wrote in a joint statement: “Let us be clear. The person we trust is Michele. She continuously puts players’ needs and interests first. She listens.” That, however, was not enough for Baldwin, nor was it enough for the board of governors at the National Women’s Soccer League, which has nudged other owners out of the league in the past.

After the 2021 season in which the Spirit won a championship despite Baldwin’s poor leadership, Kang made an offer to buy the club and give the players what they wanted. When Kang offered $35 million in December, Baldwin was already considering a $25 million bid from a group led by billionaire Todd Boehly. Baldwin still refused to sell to Kang at a higher price and pursued Boehly’s bid. The NWSL’s board of governors reportedly also preferred the Spirit be sold to Boehly over Kang, forcing Kang to pull off a boardroom power move.

On…