Perhaps I'm just naive and (tragically) American, but don't all the major league sports teams here have the ability to uproot their players via trades? I guess with the major male leagues they're all making substantially more money, which could negate some of the hardship of moving. And maybe they have more say in it? Do sports leagues outside the US function very differently?
Don't get me wrong, the way things go down in the NWSL is horrible, and the fact that so many of the players don't even see their trades coming and get blindsided is flat out cruel.
I'm not trying to defend anything, just genuinely confused. I've been a huge NHL fan my entire life and couldn't explain how trades work if my life depended on it.
Basically every other sports league outside of America banned this. The NWSL and MLS are actually going against FIFA rules with this system.
FIFA has the rule that no trade can happen without a player's consent and that contracts need to be honored. A player cannot be held by a club beyond their contract date which means once the contract ends the player is free to go. A club can offer a new contract but the player decides whether to take it or go somewhere else. If a club wants to trade a player during their contract to another club the player needs to agree to it.
In other leagues the concept of waiving also doesn't exist. If a club wants to terminate a contract they need to pay out the remaining months/years. Drafts do not happen anywhere else either. Players no matter what age who enter pro sports decide where they want to play. Most play in an academy and sign their first contract between the ages of 16-18 either with their parent club or if another offers something better they can go there.
The whole American system goes against the human right everyone should have. The right to decide where to live, love and work. Yes circumstances can change and people may move because of work but they get a choice. If you get fired by a restaurant, you do not get told you have to work for the restaurant 3 states over or never work in a restaurant again.
Money is a factor that plays a part. If you earn 5 million a year or even 500k a year being forced to move is a blow you can financially shoulder. The thing is that the most vulnerable players in the NWSL who have the least amount of certainty earn 50k a year. Those players are hardest hit when they are traded without being informed.
Also, i would bet my left boob that even the biggest earners would give some money up if that meant their life couldn't be uprooted and plenty do. The big shots get to say they want a no trade clause in their contract and they forego more money to have it. Younger and lower paid players just do not get that option.
