On Saturday, Christine Sinclair warned the world that she got bed bugs at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in Kansas City, where the Portland Thorns lost last week to put a temporary hold on their surge toward the playoffs.
WARNING to @NWSL teams and anyone staying at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Kansas City, MO #bedbugs #notok
— Christine Sinclair (@sincy12) August 15, 2015
The Adam’s Mark Hotel is the hotel which defending league champions FC Kansas City provide their opponents.
On Monday, Portland teammate Alex Morgan — who is not currently with the team, but is with the United States women’s national team on their World Cup victory tour — decided to send the NWSL a message. In a now deleted tweet, Morgan wrote:
“.@NWSL there’s no other way to address continuing problems. Hotels have been unacceptable. For ex. :Bed bugs/mold @ Adams Mark Hotel in KC.”
UPDATE: The NWSL issued the following statement regarding the situation:
During a recent road trip, a Portland Thorns FC player reported finding bed bugs in her hotel room at the team hotel in Kansas City. The hotel apologized, quickly provided a new room, and insisted the problem had been corrected. Upon learning of the situation, the League immediately spoke with both clubs, and FC Kansas City had already addressed the issue. For the remainder of the season, rooms have already been secured at another hotel. Player safety and comfort is important to all teams of the NWSL, and we are always seeking ways to improve our club and League operations. We regret this situation and apologize to the player involved.”
And it’s no secret that the NWSL is run on a shoestring budget as it tries to find its feet in season three. The minimum salary in the league is $6,842 for a six-month season (Morgan and Sinclair make significantly more than that). For what it’s worth, there are other NWSL teams with less than favorable hotel setups. These are the 2014 rules regarding accommodations:
Naturally, mainstream media outlets which otherwise couldn’t be bothered to cover the NWSL have jumped on Morgan’s tweet (notice they didn’t jump on Sinclair’s tweet). Will this bring to light the issue and bring about improvements? Or will it just be a blip on the radar? The real loser in the situation is the Adam’s Mark Hotel, which rightly or wrongly is getting a ton of bad press.
And bed bugs are not funny, but Portland rival Seattle Reign FC wins the Twitter kerfuffle with this:
Guess we’re going to have to rethink the new mascot… pic.twitter.com/S9lMtRmL3G
— Seattle Reign FC (@ReignFC) August 18, 2015
Can Portland and Seattle please play again immediately?
