One week after the controversy developed, the NWSL has addressed its decision to continue the Utah Royals’ game against Angel City FC on May 9 following an on-field medical scare involving a player.
In the 74th minute, 20-year-old Angel City FC defender Savy King collapsed on the field in Los Angeles. The game was paused while King received medical attention.
King was eventually placed on a stretcher and taken to California Hospital Medical Center.
Players on both teams were visibly shaken, but the game continued in the 85th minute after King left the field and 12 minutes of stoppage time were added.
Royals midfielder Alex Loera led both teams in a prayer on behalf of King, a former teammate, following the game.
Should the Angel City-Utah Royals game have continued?
On the day following the match, the NWSL released a statement that said “league protocols were followed from both a medical and game operations perspective” but the league would “review and determine if changes to that protocol need to be made.”
The NWSL appears to have completed its review.
In a statement posted on social media Friday, the league said it regretted the decision to continue the game.
“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 and we regret that it did,” the NWSL said. “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.”
The league’s conclusion aligns with what Royals head coach Jimmy Coenraets and the NWSL Players Association said following the match.
The NWSLPA said on Wednesday that “any medical emergency that requires the administration of life-saving care should bring play to an end,” according to ESPN.
In his post-game press conference, Coenraets expressed his disagreement with the decision to continue the game, per KSL’s Caleb Turner.
“In those moments, I’m not sure if we should have continued the game,” Coenraets said. “Not only (Angel City FC) 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 we played on. That’s a decision other people are making, which is fine. But I think it was really a tough moment.”
Coenraets said he wanted to make sure his players felt “safe, healthy, good and they can actually move on” after the game.
How is Savy King doing?
King underwent successful surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after doctors discovered she had a heart abnormality, per a statement from Angel City on Tuesday.
The team said King’s “prognosis is excellent.”