By Laura Everett and Abbi Holt
In a shockingly sudden announcement last night, players, staff, fans, and press simultaneously found out that the PHF (Premier Hockey Federation) and the PWHPA (Professional Women’s Hockey Player’s Association) were both bought out and will be reincorporated in some new form as one league. The yet-to-be-named new league will be owned by Billie Jean King Enterprises and the Mark Walters Group. The surprise announcement appears to have been forced by a leak. Initially only players were notified, and the details trickled out on Twitter over the course of the last 12 hours, with an official announcement only coming out Friday at mid-day.
News breaks on Twitter:
The official announcement from the PHF offered little concrete information, but a variety of news outlets have reported some unconfirmed details. Does what we know now suggest this will be a net positive for professional women’s hockey?
While both official announcements from the PHF and PWHPA trumpet how great this new deal will be for women’s professional hockey, the public reaction has been largely one of dismay. Reporting in a number of places quickly suggested that the plan was for the new league to contain only 6 teams. That is down from 7 teams in the PHF and 4 teams from the PHWPA for a total loss of 5 teams. That alone is a huge blow to women’s professional hockey because it leaves so many talented players out of a job. Fewer teams generally means fewer total roster spots.
Of course, a huge number of players will not find a place in the new league and many others might have to relocate to get a new position. As we write rumors are also swirling about which PHF teams will continue in the new league, especially since it seems like there will only be 6 teams. Most worrisome of all, multiple sources have suggested Boston will not be among them.
On the positive side, reporting suggests that the PWHPA will be the official union of all players that sign. It is important to note that no public record can confirm the existence of the PWHPA as a union and that they plan to ratify a CBA with the new league before the newly entering PHF players can have any input.
It has also come to light that players were planning to organize against the “termination at will” clause in most PHF players’ contracts. A CBA could certainly fix that kind of contract issue and also address the extremely restrictive non-compete clauses that are coming to light in PHF player contracts. The speed with which the CBA is being negotiated however, does really make it hard not to wonder if the new league is rushing the CBA ratification so that it can be done before the PHF players became more organized themselves. If so, we will be interested to see the CBA and wonder what the negotiators were afraid would have changed with PHF player input.
Where does this leave the players in the end? As per the Athletic, “Some (PHF) contracts were worth as much as $150,000. Those deals will not be paid out in full. Instead, players will receive severance and a period of continued health benefits.” Quite a few more details have come out via Hockey News. Notably, health benefits will only continue until September and players will get a lump sum payment of 1/12 of the player’s salary. There also will be a player support office to guide the process, and a $10,000 stipend for those players who do not get rehired or find a job in another pro league. This is a start, but one that can only leave players feeling moderately better about their contracts disappearing into thin air.
Finally, instability and underfunding has been a hallmark of women’s professional sports leagues for far too long in the United States and across the globe. While the Walters Group is exceedingly wealthy and BJK Enterprises are well known in women’s sports, exactly how much they intend to invest in the new PHF is unknown.
These players are professional athletes and deserve to be treated as such. This level of uncertainty would be intolerable in the NHL, but women and non-binary players are subjected to it simply by virtue of generations of underinvestment. Chaos creates unsafe environments for players and staff. Chaos also creates mistrust for fans, particularly fans of women’s sports. Simply saying “trust us to take care of these players” is not enough.
We can imagine scenarios where these investors commit to more robust severance packages for players who just lost their jobs, immediate mental health care and commitment to health care coverage for the next six months, and explicit financial support in this transition to the new league. Because if this is really about the support of athletes and, as the PHF press release says “a thorough and equitable process to ensure that it features the best women’s hockey players in the world,” that starts right now. Right now, that press release is both a day late, and multiple dollars short.
Is this good for professional women’s hockey? We’ll have to wait and see.
Boston Women's Sports 
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