NEW YORK — National Women’s Soccer League commissioner Jessica Berman said she plans to continue in her role, but she did not offer a tangible update on the potential renewal of her contract, which ends in the coming months.

“What I can say is that I intend to be here,” Berman told reporters from the league’s headquarters on Thursday. “I joined this league because I believe in the future of women’s sports and professional women’s soccer, and that’s all I can say.”

Berman signed a four-year contract to become commissioner of the league in early 2022.

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She addressed reporters on Thursday following two days of in-person meetings in New York among the league’s board of governors. Among the board’s most important topics in recent months has been Berman’s future and the potential renewal of her contract.

The NWSL board meetings in New York happened in the weeks after the league lost one of its most high-profile players, 20-year-old United States forward Alyssa Thompson, to Chelsea in a transfer on England’s deadline day. The move sparked further debate across the league about the NWSL’s ability to compete in a global market while maintaining a salary cap, which is currently set at $3.5 million per team.

“While I could understand the focus on the salary cap, the way that players make decisions about where to play is a complex set of considerations, and we will always look at that not in a myopic way, but holistically,” Berman said.

“We are quite confident that the value proposition that we offer to players is compelling and we’ll continue to attract and retain the best players.”

Player safety was a major topic of concern once again in Berman’s press briefing following several high-profile incidents at games this season.

The NWSL had its second major medical emergency of the season occur on Sunday when Racing Louisville FC midfielder Savannah DeMelo collapsed on the field at the halftime whistle in a game against Seattle Reign FC.

The match was suspended and completed two days later — in stark contrast to May, when Angel City FC defender Savy King was treated on the field for over 10 minutes for what turned out to be a heart abnormality. That game resumed after King was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and players were visibly upset.

Berman said on Thursday that the decision to suspend Sunday’s game was ultimately hers, and any similar situation is ultimately her call, but there are others in a “decision tree” empowered to make the call in her absence.

“Just to state the obvious, the decision to not continue the game was a no-brainer and did not require contemplation,” Berman said. “We at least now know how to manage those situations and are confident that hopefully we will never have to do them again.”

On Thursday, Berman also announced that the process to expand beyond 16 teams is now open, but she defined it as a “rolling process” rather than a bid with deadlines, as was the case in recent years.

“We’ve made the decision to shift to a rolling process mostly because we’ve been through this, two rounds, and so, we pretty much know the universe of who’s interested. There’s more than a dozen of them.

“Those conversations are ongoing. Each of them has a different perspective on how much time they need to launch, the investments they need to make to be successful, including potentially around infrastructure, and we want to not force a square peg into a round hole.”

The NWSL will expand to 16 teams next year with the introduction of Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC. Berman has said several times that there is “no reason” the NWSL cannot be as big as the 32-team NFL, although on Thursday she appeared to walk back the number of teams as more of an idea than a target or hard cap.

Berman also confirmed that the second division that the NWSL plans to operate will not launch next year, which the league initially indicated as a timeline. The league is now focused on launching a second division in 2027, she said.

Former ESPN host Keith Olbermann was ripped on social media following his reaction to Jimmy Kimmel’s show being pulled from the airwaves after Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

Olbermann responded to Sinclair’s statement, which said that Kimmel’s suspension from his ABC late-night show was “not enough.” 

Sinclair called for ABC to air a remembrance for Kirk in lieu of Kimmel’s show after the conservative influencer was shot and killed last week.

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“Burn in hell, Sinclair,” Olbermann wrote on X. “Alongside Charlie Kirk.”

Social media users slammed Olbermann’s post.

The former MSNBC talking head continued thoughts about the Kimmel situation, He referenced the remarks that led to Kimmel’s discipline, posting that “Nothing Jimmy Kimmel said was untrue.”

LIBERALS RAGE AS ABC PULLS JIMMY KIMMEL OFF AIR FOLLOWING CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN COMMENTS

Keith Olbermann on “The View” March 25, 2016. (Lou Rocco/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

On Monday, Kimmel accused conservatives of reaching “new lows” in trying to pin a left-wing ideology on 22-year-old suspect Tyler Robinson, even though prosecutors reaffirmed those ties in Tuesday’s indictment.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said.

Kimmel’s comments came one day after both FBI officials and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said that Robinson held a “leftist ideology” and was increasingly radicalized in recent years. It was also revealed that he had a romantic relationship with a transgender partner who was biologically male and transitioning to female.

Nexstar Media Group, which owns hundreds of television stations, announced earlier it would preempt Kimmel’s show on its ABC affiliates starting Wednesday night “for the foreseeable future” and would replace it with other programming over his comments about Robinson.

Sinclair called for more action.

“Mr. Kimmel’s remarks were inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country,” Sinclair Vice Chairman Jason Smith said in a statement. “We believe broadcasters have a responsibility to educate and elevate respectful, constructive dialogue in our communities. We appreciate FCC Chairman Carr’s remarks today, and this incident highlights the critical need for the FCC to take immediate regulatory action to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks.”

Democratic lawmakers, actor Ben Stiller and others also criticized ABC.

Kirk, 31, was shot and killed last week while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. Thousands of people have mourned his death in vigils across the U.S.

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Kirk’s funeral is set for Sunday in Glendale, Arizona.

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Barcelona‘s Alexia Putellas has turned down a big-money offer to join Paris Saint-Germain ahead of the closing of the transfer window this week, sources have told ESPN.

The French club approached the Spain midfielder and were prepared to hand her a multi-year contract in addition to a significant pay rise as they attempt to end OL Lyonnes‘ dominance in the Première Ligue.

A source told ESPN that Barça made it clear they were not open to offers for Putellas, but PSG were willing to execute her €1 million ($1.2m) release clause, which would have left the Catalan side powerless.

However, Putellas, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner, has pledged her commitment to Barça, where she has made over 450 appearances since re-joining from Levante in 2012.

The 31-year-old’s contract with Barça expires next summer, although there is an option for it to be extended until 2027.

With the season already underway, Putellas’s exit would have been a hammer blow to a Barça squad which has already been hugely reduced in size this summer, with just 18 players registered with the first team.

Fridolina Rolfö, Ingrid Engen, Jana Fernández, Ellie Roebuck, Bruna Vilamala, Martina Fernández and Lucía Corrales are among those who have departed, while only Laia Aleixandri has arrived.

The decision to let so many players leave is part of wider cost-cutting measures across the club’s various sporting teams, as well as a desire to use the budget available to renew the contracts of players whose contracts are expiring.

As well as Putellas, Marta Torrejón, Mapi León, Salma Paralluelo, Clàudia Pina, Caroline Graham Hansen, Cata Coll and Ona Batlle‘s terms are all up in 2026.