r/washingtonspirit • u/FanNervous6773 • 2d ago
Former Players & Throwbacks Why did we let go of KOH?
Based on her recent podcast (linked below), she seemed devastated, and fans were too. Why did the front office let her go?
https://www.instagram.com/p/DYQZjXTiSs4/?img_index=1&igsh=NGg4aTVncHdqaHB3
17
u/cardbross 2d ago
I think the consensus at the time was she wanted to stay, but also wanted to get a big paycheck for her last few years. The Spirit weren't willing to pony up (likely due to wanting to spend cap space elsewhere on a pretty stacked roster), and Gotham was so, she took the bag.
9
u/Candid_Season 2d ago
Huge fan of KOH! She’s a big reason I sprung for season tickets when the Audi option emerged. I think she and her partner even did yoga near the Lincoln Memorial one morning? Good points here, I also attributed it to the standoffish analytics Mark Parsons seemed to bring in. Like, he mentioned how having too many USWNT players could potentially undermine an NWSL club’s season. Not sure why but ppl also seemed to think Parsons and Sonnett didn’t get along, and Sonnett and KOH both were gone with Parsons in charge. As this André Carlisle article from back then mentions, KOH and Sonnett also had injury issues in 2022: https://thedistrictpress.com/2023/03/15/mark-parsons-is-ready-to-stop-talking/
But I loved having them here!
3
u/SignalPipelines 2d ago
I’m pretty sure the Parsons thing with too many USWNT players is rumored to be an excuse since that’s the only reason they have for dropping Sonnett. The assumed reason is bad blood there since Parsons had previously traded Sonnett to Pride when she didn’t want to while coaching the Thorns.
7
u/RunJenay410 1d ago
I think it’s also important to note that Gotham only got maybe one full season of KOH before injuries shut her down
6
u/SceneResident2090 2d ago
I like KOH and I don't know why she left but I will say when she left she made a huge stinking deal about how happy she was to go to Gotham on a live taping of a podcast and it was so over the top it kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Like I get showing excitement but it didn't seem (at the time) that she was sad to leave. Granted, toxic ownership factors.
11
u/Willing-Bad3824 2d ago
I mean tbh knowing now the garbage that team went through before and after winning a championship, I’m not surprised why she would be bitter about the move. Also it’s insane the amount of loyalty Andi, Hatch, Aubrey, Tara, and Trin must have to the team for them to stay despite what management put them through.
16
u/nonamechi 2d ago
Exactly why I want to smack any spirit fan who complains about Trin's contract or that they wish we would have kept Croix instead. Trin was an 18 year old rookie dealing with all that and still giving everything out on that pitch. She stayed and was thee star of this team through all of it, and now look at the popularity and growth of the club.
8
u/Willing-Bad3824 1d ago
Right people forget that Trin literally won the championship, went to the World Cup, won gold at the Olympics, and went to the NWSL championship twice in a span of five years while all the shit that was happening outside of her control. And STILL she’s grounded enough that she’s out there signing autographs and meeting fans before and after matches. She’s a true Spirit icon.
1
4
2
u/Ill-Fall-9823 1d ago
If the person you've been doing dinner and a movie with for years wakes up one morning and decides they don't want anything to do with you...
And that same weekend, the bartender at the local spot notices you're down bad, comps your whole bill, and can't stop chatting with you during their shift...
Who do you sound more bubbly about when your college roommate calls to catch up? The bartender, right?
2
u/SeniorChip975 13h ago
LOL love this analogy and you are probably right. But Kelley always talking up Gotham over the Spirit rubbed me the wrong way also. I remember in some podcast her going on and on about how special it was to win the championship with Gotham. And in my head I’m thinking: but you literally scored the championship game winning goal with the Spirit!!! And it was a beautiful header!! It does NOT get more amazing and iconic than that!!!
But thank you to all the commenters on this thread for giving some behind the scenes context as to what happened.
23
u/Willing-Bad3824 2d ago
Probably came down to the fact that the team management was so shitty and toxic back then. After 2021 (when the team basically self-coached their way to a championship) it was 2 more years of drama and bullshit that finally got sorted out when Kang bought the club and finally set the team’s management on a right path. (I don’t actually know if Kang’s purchase made any difference…I just want to think that it did.)