The Women’s Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL) announced the cancellation of their 2020 season today due to the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. It would have been the league’s third season.
“We will always put the health, safety, and well-being of our athletes, fans, partners and staff first,” WPLL CEO and Founder Michele DeJuliis said in a statement released Tuesday. “A primary challenge we are facing as a league with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is the uncertainty of when the CDC, local governments and our host venues will allow for a full return to normalcy.”
Michele DeJuliis founded the WPLL in 2018 and has served as its CEO since its inception
The league had previously announced they would restructure in 2020, which included eliminating the WPLL Fire and reducing the number of teams to four.
While the league will not compete in a season format this summer, they still will maintain a presence with the WPLL Futures and will still maintain a presence at the IWLCA’s President Cup.
“While we are very disappointed, we remain hopeful for all that lies ahead. We made incredible progress during this offseason solidifying numerous multi-year partnerships that support our vision and passion for this league, and our dedication to driving women’s lacrosse forward at the professional level,” Michele DeJuliis said.
The league also announced it will has cancelled its 2020 draft, and will instead host a “Disbursement Draft” that will draft college seniors and players not currently rostered onto the leagues four protected rosters.
“Our focus will now turn towards ensuring an even bigger 2021 season,” DeJuliis said. “We look forward to staying in touch with our fans and partners via our social channels.”
Chris Hogan: From Winning Two Super Bowls to Tackling Pro Lacrosse in the PLL (Pro Lacrosse Talk Podcast #128)
byPro Lacrosse Talk
On this episode of the Pro Lacrosse Talk Podcast, Hutton Jackson and Adam Moore are joined by two-time Super Bowl champion and former Penn State lacrosse star Chris Hogan. He discusses his announcement that he plans to play in the Premier Lacrosse league this summer, how he’s been training for the PLL season and signing a sponsorship deal with Epoch Lacrosse. He recounts his journey from Penn State lacrosse to Monmouth University football to cracking an NFL roster and eventually making it to three Super Bowls with the new England Patriots. They also discuss his relationships with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, which PLL player he’s looking forward to potentially facing and how lacrosse equipment has evolved since he played in college to now.
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Pro Lacrosse Talk is the flagship lacrosse podcast of the Lacrosse Playground network covering all three professional lacrosse leagues (NLL, PLL, Athletes Unlimited). Each week throughout the season we’ll recap the games, provide analysis on the teams and feature exclusive postgame and off-the-field interviews with professional lacrosse players, coaches and executives. If you’re a fan of lacrosse podcasts like the Unbuckled Chinstrap, The Inside Feed, Lacrosse Classified or The Crease Dive, then give us a listen.