Forward Trinity Rodman has agreed to a three-year contract to remain with the Washington Spirit, ending months of speculation about the Olympic gold medalist's future in the National Women's Soccer League.
“I think I've always had a vision and an idea of what I wanted my legacy to be,” Rodman said at an event announcing her new deal on Thursday in Los Angeles. “And for me, we're doing that and I'm so grateful for that.”
The speculation over Rodman's future with the Spirit spurred criticism of the NWSL salary cap and whether it hampered the league from attracting and maintaining top players.
The 23-yera-old Rodman became a free agent at the end of last season after five years with the Spirit. One of the biggest stars in the NWSL, keeping her in the league was considered vitally important as other U.S. national team stars, including Naomi Girma and Alyssa Thompson, opted to play in Europe.
Rodman, who won a gold medal with the United States at the Paris Olympics, had been drawing interest from European teams that don’t have a salary cap.
“I can't think of the Washington Spirit without her,” Spirit owner Michele Kang said. “And I hope she can't think about her career without the Washington Spirit. So this is really monumental and it was really important, not only for the Spirit, especially for our fans who expect to see her. They come to Audi Field and that's where Rowdy Audi clearly came out.”
Rodman said she always wanted to stay with the Spirit
“Making my decision, the one question I was asked was: ‘Do you feel like you’re finished with the Spirit? Can you say that and feel confident leaving?’” she said. “I didn’t even need half a second, and I was like, ’No, I’m not. I don’t feel ready to make a different decision. That’s just, again, getting drafted here and developing and maturing and learning – and failing – at the Spirit, in D.C., it’s become so much of my legacy and my story. But on top of that, I still feel like there’s so much more I have to give and so much more that I want to do.”
The Spirit and Rodman had previously struck a multi-year deal that both parties maintained was in compliance with the salary cap, but it was rejected by the league because it went against the spirit of the rules.
The National Women's Soccer League Players Association filed a grievance claiming that the NWSL's rejection of the contract violated Rodman's free agency rights and violated the collective bargaining agreement.
To address the salary cap issue, the NWSL in late December adopted a “High Impact Player” mechanism that allowed teams to spend up to $1 million over the cap to sign players that meet certain criteria. Those included metrics like national team minutes, inclusion among the 30 candidates for the Ballon d’Or or player rankings by outlets like the Guardian or ESPN.
The NWSLPA filed a grievance over the rule, claiming it violated the collective bargaining agreement and federal labor law because player compensation must be negotiated. The NWSLPA maintains the league had no authority to “unilaterally create a new pay structure.”
Spirit President of Soccer Operations Haley Carter said the High Impact Player rule figured into the contract Rodman ultimately agreed to. Carter also said the grievances would not alter Rodman's deal.
The financial terms of Rodman's contract were not disclosed, but the Spirit called it “one of the most significant deals in NWSL history.”
The NWSL’s salary cap is $3.5 million for each team for the 2026 season, although it will increase each year until it hits $5.1 million in 2030.
Rodman is currently with the national team in their annual January training camp in Carson, California. The team plays a match there against Paraguay on Saturday and then plays Chile on Tuesday in Santa Barbara.
Rodman has 47 appearances and 11 goals with the national team, more than any other player on the latest roster. She played in one U.S. match last year, a 2-0 victory over Brazil in April, because of injuries.
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FILE - Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman (2) warms up before the NWSL women's championship soccer match against NJ/NY Gotham FC, Nov. 22, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Justine Willard, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump had another medical exam on Tuesday, putting his health under renewed public scrutiny as he has worked to dismiss concerns over his age and stamina.
The 79-year-old president spent more than three hours at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for what the White House described as preventive medical and dental checkups. It was Trump's fourth publicly disclosed medical exam since he returned to office for a second term, and it comes as he tries to project strength ahead of midterm elections that will test his sway with voters.
In a social media post after the visit, Trump said that he had just finished his “6 month physical” and that “Everything checked out PERFECTLY.”
For decades, administrations have released selected results from presidential physicals, offering the public a glimpse at the commander-in-chief’s health. But the results are filtered through the White House and must be approved by the president, raising questions about what the public does and doesn't get to see.
Trump, a Republican, turns 80 next month and was the oldest person elected U.S. president. His immediate predecessor, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, was 82 when he left office, dropping out of the 2024 presidential race because of widespread concerns he was too old for the job.
A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted in April found that less than half of U.S. adults think Trump has the mental sharpness or physical health to serve effectively as president.
“I think concern for the president’s physical health is probably at an all-time high, and I think advanced physical age is the No. 1 concern,” said Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, who served as a White House physician for more than a decade under Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
For a president of Trump’s age, a complete physical would be expected to include advanced heart testing, screening for common cancers and a cognitive assessment, along with basics like height, weight and blood pressure, Kuhlman said.
The White House has not disclosed what the visit entailed but expressed confidence in what it will show.
“President Trump is the sharpest and most accessible President in American history who is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises, and he remains in excellent health,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement.
In the weeks leading up to his visit, Trump has been saying he feels as good as he did five decades ago — even as he jokes about his fondness for fast food and his minimal exercise regimen. Yet he’s also sensitive to perceptions about his age, noting that he takes extra caution descending the steps from Air Force One to avoid headlines about a stumble.
There is no law requiring presidents to publicize their health records, and the degree of transparency has varied by administration. Trump’s past reports have been criticized for offering scant detail and providing statistics that some medical experts eyed with skepticism.
At public appearances, Trump is often seen wearing makeup to conceal bruising on his hands, which the White House attributes to handshaking and regular aspirin use. He has sometimes appeared drowsy during meetings and closed his eyes for long stretches, though he denies having fallen asleep.
Trump often boasts of having “aced” cognitive tests while frequently deriding Biden, who faced questions about his mental acuity. Biden and his aides pushed back aggressively against doubts raised about his fitness for office.
Some of Trump’s previous physicals have included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, used to screen for dementia and cognitive impairment. His physicians reported a score of 30 out of 30 for him at 2018 and 2025 checkups.
Yet critics have pointed to Trump’s meandering speeches and sometimes bellicose rhetoric as evidence of cognitive decline.
Last month, a statement from more than 30 neurologists, psychiatrists and other medical experts — who acknowledged they’ve never examined him — said Trump was mentally unfit to serve and warned of an “increasingly dangerous decline” in his behavior based on what they called “objectively observable signs of serious medical concern.″
“Any so-called medical professionals engaging in armchair diagnosis or false speculation for political purposes are clearly breaking the Hippocratic Oath they’ve sworn to,” Ingle said.
Just like any other patient, presidents get to choose what’s disclosed about their health, said Sara Rosenthal, a bioethicist at the University of Kentucky who studies presidential health. Questions about transparency have become more acute as America elects aging presidents like Trump and Biden, she said.
“I think we can expect very little disclosure about the true health status of any president unless they’re in perfect health,” said Rosenthal, who has suggested an independent medical organization to review and report on the health of the president and those in the line of succession.
Trump's first medical report in his second term was released last April. In July, he was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition in older adults that causes blood to pool in his veins. Photographs have shown the president with swollen feet, ankles and calves, described by the White House as a symptom of chronic venous insufficiency leading to “mild swelling” in his lower legs.
Following his last publicly disclosed exam, described as a routine follow-up last October, Trump’s physician issued a one-page summary saying the president was in “exceptional health” without divulging many specific results.
The frequency of Trump's medical checkups is not uncommon for someone his age, according to S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois-Chicago, who has studied the health of past presidents. It's part of a strategy to catch problems while they’re still treatable, Olshansky said.
Olshansky says the public deserves to see more than White House medical summaries that “may be subject to editorial discretion.” Full, unredacted medical records should be made public, he said: “Nothing should be hidden.”
President Donald Trump departs Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
FILE - The left foot and swollen ankle of President Donald Trump are pictured as he sits with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in the Oval Office of the White House, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump's right hand is seen as he speaks to the press after returning and stepping off Air Force One, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., after speaking at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy commencement. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Donald Trump walks down the stairs of Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
CORRECTS DATE - President Donald Trump sits at the back of the presidential limousine as it drives outside the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center from the White House, Tuesday, May 26, 2026 in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
