USA Hockey and Players Reach "Tentative Agreement"
USA players announced boycott Wednesday March 15th
***UPDATED***
On Monday, USA Hockey and players from the national team, along with their representatives met in Philadelphia for 10 hours in efforts to come to an agreement. The players put forth a revised agreement for USA Hockey to review and accept before the national team members agreed to drop their boycott of the upcoming World Championships.
Thursday afternoon sources told MyWSports that USA Hockey was attempting to put together a replacement team for the international tournament set to begin March 31st in Plymouth, Michigan. This came after USA Hockey failed to get members of the executive board to agree to the terms put forth by the players in Mondays meeting. According to multiple sources, not all of the members of the board were given an opportunity to vote. In total USA Hockey has 91 voting board members and 14 executive board members.
USA Hockey informed in a letter, sent to possible replacement players, that USA Hockey has a responsibility to explore next steps if terms are not reached with national team players. Potential replacement players were asked to respond by 5pm ET on Friday if they were willing to compete in the upcoming World Championships.
USA Hockey has said all along that the tournament will proceed, not matter the result of the boycott. The federation is currently reaching out to veteran college players who may not have been part of the national team program.
U.S national team members released this statement Thursday night:
"As we have maintained from the beginning this issue is about more than compensation for the current team: it's about equitable treatment for female players now and in the future. A forward-looking agreement will benefit the next generation of player even more than the current players. For that reason, and the fact that the younger players identify with us, we are confident that they would choose not to play."
If USA Hockey continues to stall on making an agreement in these negotiations, they risk not sending a team at all to the World Championships. All 92 members of the women's national team program were contacted by senior team captain, Meghan Duggan by phone. The team is confident that all players stand united in the boycott and if no progress is made no players will play.
On Friday morning, players tweeted out photos of themselves holding a sign with a word that described the team. Players such as Hilary Knight, Amanda Kessel and captain, Meghan Duggan all tweeted out photos among others. Below is defenseman and Boston College rising senior, Megan Keller's tweet:
National team players and their representation have confirmed that the team will not play in the World Championships unless an agreement is made between the two sides. USA Hockey has said they want to make sure the players who represent U.S.A are those who were selected previously.
On Monday, a group of senators sent a letter to USA Hockey asking them to resolve the dispute with it's members.
***UPDATE***
13 days after announcing their boycott, the U.S. national women’s hockey team has a deal in place with USA Hockey to end its boycott of the upcoming world championships. On Monday, a majority of USA Hockey's executive board held an emergency meeting to vote on the proposal by the national team players.
USA Hockey approached retired players, current NCAA players, various youth national teams, all the way down to the Under-16 players, seeking to find replacements for the tournament. After failing to field a team, USA Hockey held a call with players to discuss next steps on Monday night.
Tuesday morning, two sources told MyWSports that talks were heading in the right direction and a deal would be done. By Tuesday afternoon, a "tentative deal" has been reached by both USA Hockey and the players, three days before the start of the World Championships in Michigan.
National team members agreed to a new contract eight hours after USA Hockey put forth a resolution Tuesday afternoon. The team will compete starting Friday against Team Canada and will report to camp as early as Wednesday morning.
The two sides agreed to keep details of the contract between the two parties.
"We stood up for what we thought was right & USAH's leadership listened. In the end, both sides came together" Captian Meghan Duggan said of the historic accomplishment. Players have released the following tweet to supporters.
“We look forward to the future with great anticipation,” said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. “This process has, in the end, made us better.”
The U.S national team made a history today and it should not go unnoticed. The players took to their boycott and accomplished their mission, not only for the current team but for the growth of women and girls hockey in the future. Although USA Hockey attempted to field and team, took over a week to put forth a reasonable agreement, props for doing what is right.
