NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman addresses Wave lawsuit, field conditions: ‘Club is going to be healthy and strong’

WASHINGTON, D.C. — NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said Saturday that the league is “working really closely” with the San Diego Wave’s new ownership following a lawsuit filed last month against the club involving claims of discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination and sexual harassment, coupled with safety concerns about the team’s field that caused a relocation of a game earlier this month.

In early October, five former Wave employees filed a lawsuit against the club in the San Diego Superior Court, following allegations first raised in July by Brittany Alvarado, a former video and creative manager for the club, accusing San Diego and its president, Jill Ellis — who is not named as a defendant — of creating a hostile work environment.

About a month later, the Wave was unable to host its scheduled regular-season finale at Snapdragon Stadium in early November after a FIFA representative deemed the surface unplayable due to field conditions. At the time, ESPN also reported that the club incurred multiple fines throughout the 2024 season due to safety concerns about the field.

San Diego missed the playoffs this season after winning the NWSL Shield in 2023 as the league’s top-performing team in the regular season.

Berman spoke to the issues in San Diego at a limited media availability ahead of Saturday’s NWSL semifinal matchup between the Washington Spirit and Gotham FC in Washington, D.C.

“The future of the San Diego Wave is in the hands of an entirely new ownership group, and those new owners, the Levine and Leichtman family, took over all of four weeks ago,” Berman said in response to question about the state of the club. “They have been knee-deep in trying to learn and understand the business, to learn and understand the professional environment, and I have a high degree of confidence that that club is going to be healthy and strong.

“We’re working really closely with them to ensure that it can continue to live the legacy that was created when that team was launched and was actually, with a lot of the support from the community and with the people who are working at the club, the crown jewel of our league. We’re really excited about ensuring that we get the support we need internally, and externally, to get it to the place where we’re all really proud of the San Diego Wave.”

Berman then addressed a follow-up question specific to Ellis’ role in the lawsuit. The former USWNT manager joined the Wave as club president in June 2021, ahead of its inaugural season.

“Jill Ellis is an icon in our industry. You know, she led the U.S. Women’s National Team. I think her career speaks for itself,” Berman said. “What happened in San Diego is something that is the subject of litigation, and we’ll have to all see how things play out. I can’t specifically comment about that.

“What I know is that the NWSL’s commitment and values and policies are to ensure that every single person in our ecosystem — players, technical staff and employees of both the league and the clubs — are supported with an environment that ensures that they have a healthy, safe place to work. Our commitment remains focused on that, and we will be here to support the club, to ensure that that is reality.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

San Diego Wave, NWSL

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