The Sally Yates report gave light to patterns of systemic racism within the NWSL, and the very logo for the league depicts a white woman. There are lots of things that need to change to address the issues and make change for the better, and one could easily be changing the logo to depict a black or brown player.
Representation matters.
In the semifinal game against San Diego Wave on October 23rd, Raque Rodriguez showed us an an in action shot of a player as close to the logo as I have ever seen it, as she rocketed the ball into the back of the net for an equalizer. A snapshot was taken, and it was as if meant to be, a player of color graciously posing to be the new model for the logo.
Let's make it happen.
To learn more about how racism is just as important to address as the other abuse outlined in the Sally Yates report, I recommend listening to episode 265 of Burn It All Down here: https://www.burnitalldownpod.com/episodes/265
Also considering supporting the Black Women's Player Collective here: https://www.bwplayercollective.org/
Support players access to mental health care here:
https://supporttheplayers.net/
Where I first saw the shot of Raque posed just like the logo: https://twitter.com/thrace/status/1584296704081207296?s=46&t=4EEnQhwAsG2PFXtKFC_aNQ
Where you can watch Raque's goalazo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WI4Dggk5EQ
