USA - LOVB 2026 (League One Volleyball 2026)

    “If we can keep American talent on American soil,” Poulter said, “mental health tends to be better.”


    Washington recalls instances of mistreatment while playing overseas. Players were forced to play with injuries or vacation and sick days were taken away, she said. This action towards the players, combined with the long distance from home, led to depression, she said. “The depression is real. You’re not a person over there. which is something that we’re hoping to harp on in this league here… You’re something that they paid for. You’re a product, you’re their commodity,” Washington said.


    https://www.sltrib.com/amplify…c-stars-brought-lovb-pro/


    Just a couple of highlights from the interview since we already most of it. This isn't about the new signings by the way. Nothing to do with it.


    Cont.


    The role of a founding athlete can be demanding and time-consuming, Poulter said. On top of regular practice times, founding athletes commit to media roles such as advertising, interviews, branding and partnerships.


    Poulter said all of those are paying off.


    “I pinch myself every day,” Poulter said. “I hope that this decision we all made to play in League One will be the next shoulders for future generations to stand on.”

    Keeping talent In America

    “We all played overseas, and the amount of money we could make there is better,” Poulter said. “Being so far from home, you’re living this alternate life. The overseas schedule is so much longer … The injuries a lot of us sustained were probably due to playing 15 weeks straight. It was too much for too long.”


    “We have 400 girls that have to go abroad if they want to continue in the world of volleyball,” Gao told NPR in 2021. “And many of them don’t really want to. They want to be closer to home, closer to the communities that they have been brought up in.”



    The future of LOVB Pro

    “We truly are a startup league,” she said. “Some of us are a one-man team trying to make a difference across an entire state and across an entire country, but I think that we’ve done it right in terms of starting small.”


    Every new professional sports organization wants to draw crowds, build stadiums and make money. The founding athletes of LOVB Pro want to reach those goals as well, but Washington said there’s more at stake.


    “We’re not just building a league,” she said. “We’re trying to change the entire ecosystem of women’s volleyball in this country. And that takes time. But I want little girls growing up knowing they can dream about playing pro here, at home, and actually make it happen.”

    out of all the stories i've read and remember i think carli lloyd suffered immensely in azerbaijan. she wanted to get out of there so fast.