Kansas City Current general manager Camille Ashton has resigned, the club announced Wednesday.
The staffing shakeup comes as somewhat of a surprise after the Current started off the season undefeated under new head coach Vlatko Andonovski, sitting second in the NWSL standings through 10 games.
No further details were given about her departure, other than that the club “wishes her the best in her future endeavors.”
“I am thankful for my time in Kansas City,” Ashton said in a team statement. “It was important to me to dedicate my time and efforts to ensure a successful 2024 season by building the championship-caliber roster that’s currently near the top of the table. I am proud of what we have accomplished here. I look forward to the next step in my personal and professional journey.”
Ashton, who played in the league from 2014-17, helped rebuild the Current roster, including picking up then-free agent Debinha in 2023 — the biggest free agency signing of that offseason. This past offseason, she brought in international players Temwa Chawinga and Bia Zaneratto.
But the club has also encountered some rough patches throughout Ashton’s tenure. Following her daughter’s dismissal from the Current last year, mother of 2023 draft pick Mykiaa Minniss also accused the club of mistreatment during the preseason. While both the league and NWSL Players Association looked into the comments, no formal reprimand or consequences were publicly issued.
Players like Lynn Williams, Alex Loera, and Cece Kizer voiced concerns over what they described as unexpected trades, with Kizer adding that there was “no conversation this could happen.” Williams, meanwhile, was informed of her trade moments prior to its execution while she was in New Zealand with the USWNT.
“There could be a lot of debate about that on its own, but at the end of the day, that’s the mechanism that we work with right now in the league,” Ashton told reporters earlier this year when quested about the Current’s player trade procedures.
While the club made an NWSL championship appearance in 2022 — the year Ashton came on as general manager — the 2023 season kicked off with the team firing head coach Matt Potter just three games into the season and hours before a road game.
At the time, the club cited “issues around his leadership and employment responsibilities” as the reasoning, though players were reportedly confused with the decision making.
Last October, the Current hired former UWSNT coach Vlatko Andonovski as head coach, in addition to giving him the title of “sporting director.” Whether or not that role overlapped with Ashton’s responsibilities as general manager was cause for some speculation.