On January 10, former Utah Royals goalkeeper Carly Nelson spoke out about "the emotional and psychological abuse" she endured while playing for the club in 2024 and revealed that this was the reason for the mental health leave she took in May 2024. Nelson said that "this problem goes beyond individual experiences - it's systemic."

The Royals put out a statement addressing Nelson's post - in so much that they said they "we were saddened to learn of a former player’s experience" while not actually addressing the substance of what Nelson said or if action was or will be taken. The club did not deem it necessary to put it on their website or socials, but the full statement can be found in this article.

On March 5, a podcast with Nelson was released by The Mindset Experience in which she talks about her journey in soccer along with why she took mental health leave from the Royals. The podcast's episode's title - Pro Soccer Player Carly Nelson on Saving Yourself Over Saving a Goal - in it of itself gives insight into her harrowing experience at the Royals, but the entire episode is a thoughtful conversation between herself and the host, Dr. Arman Taghizadeh, who is a psychiatrist and former D1 athlete.

Nelson and Taghizadeh play off each other well for a conversation that is entertaining while at the same time delving deeper into the human condition. Nelson gives tidbits like that she played field and in goal until she was about fifteen, jokes that she got some sense knocked into her by getting knocked out in a game her freshman year of college, and details how a chance conversation while doing door-to-door sales in Pennsylvania made her fully realize what she wanted out of soccer and shifted her mindset. The entire podcast is worth a listen, but it is in listening to Nelson talk about her experience playing for the Royals in 2024 that a light is really shown on her intrepidness. 

There are numerous heart-wrenching quotes from Nelson in the podcast, but one that sticks out is when Taghizadeh asks her to talk about taking her mental health leave and the necessity to prioritize the person over the athlete: "It got to the point... I just didn't love it anymore. And it was ruining - it was poisoning it for me. And I was at the point where I was like if I don't stop now I'm going to hate soccer forever. I'm going to hate it. I'll never touch a ball again... if I don't exit this environment right now I might not make it out." That a player left the league feeling this way does not say anything good about the NWSL, but it is made even worse given that Nelson posted, "I reported the abuse of this club for 5 months and not a single thing was done about it. A lot of players are suffering in silence still." 

In a press conference where she ended up mostly being asked about the reporting done by the San Francisco Chronical into complaints about Bay FC's head coach Albertin Montoya, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said, "... we're very confident that the system we have in place will ensure that we surface the issues that need to be addressed, and that we'll continue to work with all of our clubs, our technical staff and our players to make sure that we're achieving our goal of creating a safe, healthy, working environment." It should go without saying that the NWSL isn't currently and has never achieved that proclaimed goal, but Nelson also had something to say that contradicts Berman's assertion. Nelson posted, "As a former player, I can confirm this system is currently failing players and will continue to do so if change is not made. Why are there so many current reports of abuse if the system to which they built is working? A system that “works” should prevent abuse from even happening." She followed that up with, "Yes, the anonymous reporting is a new good thing and gives players access to report these things and stay hidden. We need that considering how common retaliation is. Again, my question is how are the abusive people still able to get in the door? Where’s the focus on that?"

In the podcast, Nelson also said that "The love for the game - like I'm so passionate - I love this game with everything in me and I came to this organization and it was stripped from it." Professional players work their entire lives to get to the highest levels of the game. That playing for the Utah Royals was stripping Nelson of her love of the game would be a disgrace no matter what, but especially for a league that assured their players and the public that they would reform post the Yates Report and the joint NWSL and NWSLPA investigation report.