Just four days after the U.S. Women dominated the Olympic qualifying tournament to earn a spot in the Summer Games, the professional league in which most of the Americans play announced it had "suspended operations" for 2012 but hoped to return with eight teams in 2013.
According to the league, the culprit was Dan Borislow, the owner of the Majicjack franchise in Florida, who was kicked out of the league. A court ruled that the league had not followed its own by-laws and the league decided it could not play the season while the litigation continued. But it had other problems, including the loss of Puma as a major national sponsor and the fact that its national team players from the United States and Canada would be gone for much of the summer for the Olympics.
Jack Bell provides a comprehensive analysis of the story in the New York Times. The Philadelphia Inquirer quotes David Halstead, owner of the Philadelphia Independence, as saying ""This is what responsible business enterprises do, and it's what the WPS and Philadelphia Independence are going to do. A successful WPS is a journey . . . a marathon. We've just completed a couple of early miles to this journey and are re-hydrating and re-tooling for the next leg. Stay tuned."
Women's soccer has come a long way from the days when the Charge used to nearly fill Villanova Stadium. Unfortunately, it's the wrong direction.
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