The National Women's Soccer League has plans to adopt a tool to monitor and protect players from online abuse, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman told NPR's All Things Considered. The plans, first reported by NPR, are expected to come during the 2025 season.
The NWSL came under scrutiny last November after Orlando Pride striker Barbra Banda received online abuse accusing her of being a "man," after she was voted the BBC's Women Footballer of the Year. Banda is a cisgender woman.
At the time, Harry Potter series author J.K. Rowling accused the BBC of "spit[ting] directly in women's faces."
The backlash came two years after Banda failed gender eligibility tests before the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, keeping her out of competition. But the Zambian forward went on to represent her country at the World Cup in 2023.
The NWSL league didn't issue their own statement in November, according to The Athletic. They reshared a message that was posted from Banda's team in Orlando saying, "We are incredibly proud that Barbra has been voted as the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year, one of many outstanding achievements she has accomplished during this historic 2024 season."
All Things Considered 's Rob Schmitz asked NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman if the league should have handled the abuse Banda received in November differently. Berman said, "There were a lot of lessons learned, both about things that we could have done better to support [Banda], internally and externally."
"To be clear, we stand by our players. And that includes Barbra Banda," Berman told NPR. "We love seeing her thrive in our ecosystem and it's our responsibility to show up and help her feel supported and protected."
Berman said the league has been working for the last couple of months to find a "technology partner who could help us to monitor all of the social media hate that many are targets of."
"Hopefully, we'll be in a better position to be able to respond quickly if that happens again in the future," she said.
The NWSL will be the latest to take this approach. The Olympic committee used an AI-powered tool during the 2024 Paris Games to block offensive and abusive social media posts before the athletes could even see them.
Banda, who electrified crowds last season, will kick off the 2025 NWSL season on Friday night in Orlando. She helped the Pride lift two trophies last season, and was an MVP finalist after scoring 13 goals in the 2024 season and four in the playoffs.
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