“Were to Happen on Men’s Side…” – Alexis Ohanian’s ACFC Star Highlights Alleged Gender Inequality Amid Rising ACL Injuries

The National Women’s Soccer League appears to be sending up a flare. ACL injuries are on the rise, with each matchday, seeing stars sidelined with lengthy injuries. Alexis Ohanian-backed Angel City FC star Christen Press was also one of the victims. However, frustration seems to have built up significantly within the USWNT star as she urges that ‘some things need to change,’ underlining gender inequality.

Even as Press is inching closer to making a return on the pitch, the forward isn’t happy how the league officials aren’t taking this matter seriously. As revealed by @girlsunitedfc_ on Instagram, she said, “I think the amount of ACL injuries in professional women’s soccer in the last two years has just been shocking, some things need to change.”

That’s not all, as the 35-year-old also took a dig at the stakeholders of women’s soccer, underscoring how things would have been if a similar problem persisted in the dominant men’s game. “If this were to happen on the men’s side we would’ve immediately seen a reaction of how we are going to solve this,” she added. Notably, women are 4-6 times more susceptible to ACL injuries compared to men.

Moreover, female soccer players typically have much lower training ages, meaning they have had less exposure to structured, coached, and progressive training compared to male players. Yet, there are no key steps taken by the women’s domestic league stakeholders. Earlier, Press sustained a knock in her ACL back in 2022, forcing her to miss the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

In fact, just before the beginning of the 2024 NWSL season, Press’s fellow teammate Jun Endo also sustained a similar knock. As more injuries followed, Angel City owner Alexis Ohanian even urged NWSL to do something about it.

Alexis Ohanian called NWSL for action against persistent ACL issues

Months ago, in a show of support for NJ/NY Gotham FC star Midge Purce, who suffered an ACL injury, Alexis Ohanian took to his Instagram stories. He shared a reel featuring a clip from Saved by the Bell’s ‘Iconic Bayside Drug Commercial,’ with the caption “Women playing with knees” and had dialogues saying, “dumb, stupid, crazy, dangerous.” Ohanian added a caption below the story, stating, “We gotta fix this ACL situation.”

But no comment has been made by NWSL in this regard. On the other side, North Carolina Courage standout Kerolin Nicoli experienced a ruptured ACL in late October 2023 and is expected to return just before the season ends in November 2024. It’s evident that ACL injuries are severe and continue to affect the careers of top players. Let’s hope that such appeals from Christen Press or Alexis Ohanian force the authorities to find a solution.