The lower-body injury that befell Charlotte North last Saturday in a Women’s Lacrosse League game has been the story thus far of the 2026 domestic season.
And yet, it’s not the only injury to a major player this year in the league, as Gabby Rosenzweig of the California Palms tore a ligament and her meniscus the day before the team’s debut last month, according to a recent social media post.
The WLL isn’t the only women’s lacrosse league to which injuries have affected competition since the first organized professional league started play 10 years ago. Let’s take you back to July 31, 2016 at Homewood Field at Johns Hopkins University. Because of a destructive thunderstorm that came through the area the night before, United Women’s Lacrosse (UWLX) played its semifinal and final games in 90-degree heat.
We liveblogged all three games that day, and, if you read the text we wrote, you’ll not only notice mentions of the score and the plays that led to Long Island’s championship, but we also took note of the attrition that occurred during the day. The Boston Storm, the second-place team, had three healthy outfield subs at the start of the day, but finished the final with only one healthy substitute because of injury.
Ever since the start of the women’s sports revolution of the mid-1990s, I have been concerned about how athletes’ long-term health care is managed. I have known players who have had long-term health concerns after playing the sport they loved — cancer, concussions, knees, hips, shoulders, and various other problems which have befallen the great personalities of women’s sport.
And, given the patchwork that is the U.S. health care system, players are never totally assured of being able to receive the needed long-term care for professional sports injuries in later life. I’ve known former amateur athletes who have had to receive joint replacements in their mid-40s. That’s not an inexpensive procedure.
Now, the sports world has been having conversations about long-term care in pro sports such as football, soccer, and ice hockey, especially when it comes to neurological concerns due to concussions.
But women’s health care, especially for retired athletes, is an issue that needs to be addressed.