28 September 2020

Orlando Pride captain Ashlyn Harris hits out at Houston Dash players for flouting Covid rules

Orlando Pride captain Ashlyn Harris has criticised Houston Dash players for not abiding by Covid-19 guidelines, especially during the National Women’s Soccer League Fall Series.

Earlier this week Dash player Christine Nairn posted an Instagram story showing her and several other team-mates at a restaurant while not wearing masks or implementing social distancing.

Harris told Orlando Sentinel: “There’s no surprise that a lot of things were surfacing on the internet of the Houston team not doing their job social distancing and being out and about without masks.”

On Wednesday it was confirmed that a Dash player had tested positive for Covid-19, it has not been established if the players outing to the restaurant was the cause.

Dash’s match against Pride last weekend still went ahead as all other team members and staff tested negative but two Pride players, Kristen Edmonds and Sydney Leroux Dwyer, opted not to travel to Houston.

Harris added she was even more frustrated with Dash as Pride are extremely strict with their protocols after several team-mates tested positive prior to the Challenge Cup this summer.

She said: "After what we went through and the guidelines we have been going through and abiding by, we don’t leave our homes. We don’t got to restaurants, we don’t go out in public. We limit our grocery store trips once a week. 

"This has been difficult and to see people out and about not taking our safety into account after the traumatic experience we had, I don’t blame players just saying ‘no it’s not for me, I’m not going’. And that’s what Kristen and Syd did and it sucks and this is the reality,

“But this is Covid. Everyone has to do the right thing and whether they do or don’t, you know, we can’t do anything about it. But when it comes to health and safety, everyone has to make their own individual decision and we support that.”

Dash beat Pride 3-1 in the match at the weekend and both clubs will play each other again on October 9.

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