NWSL player Savannah DeMelo sues Racing Louisville team doctor regarding her on-field cardiac arrest

Racing Louisville midfielder Savannah DeMelo has sued University of Louisville Health and a doctor that treated her, alleging that they failed to properly diagnose a heart condition that resulted in her suffering on-field cardiac arrest during an NWSL game last September, according to multiple reports . DeMelo, who also played for the U.S. Women's National Team, collapsed during a game between Louisville and the Seattle Reign on Sept. 14, 2025. She was taken from the field to a Seattle hospital in an ambulance, and the game was postponed. DeMelo has not played since. On Monday — the one-year anniversary of her on-field collapse — DeMelo revealed on Instagram that she went into cardiac arrest that night. She wrote that her cardiac arrest was "due to an undiagnosed cardiac arrhythmia." Neither of those diagnoses had previously been publicly revealed. "A year ago today, while playing soccer, I collapsed due to an undiagnosed cardiac arrhythmia, that caused me to go into cardiac arrest. I respect and appreciate the privacy everyone has met me with while going through everything I have this year "I'll never be able to fully put into words how emotionally hard this year has been. There has been a lot of uncertainty and emotions intertwined with it all." View this post on Instagram Per the Louisville Courier Journal , DeMelo named Racing Louisville's chief medical doctor, Dr. Jennifer Daily, in her lawsuit in addition to University of Louisville Health. Per her University of Louisville bio , Daily is the medical director for the UofL Health Sports Medicine institute and the chief medical officer for Racing Louisville FC. Daily is an employee of the University of Louisville and works for Racing Louisville via its contract with the university, according to USA Today. She is not a team employee. The lawsuit does not name Racing Louisville staff, per the Courier Journal. What DeMelo's lawsuit alleges Per DeMelo's nine-page lawsuit, she was under the care of Daily from Jan. 17, 2024-July 23, 2026. The lawsuit states that University of Louisville Health and its physicians failed to "properly diagnose and treat" her cardiac condition prior to her on-field cardiac arrest. The lawsuit states that University of Louisville Health "acted negligently and failed to act as a reasonably prudent and competent" medical provider. Per the Courier Journal, DeMelo states in the lawsuit that she incurred medical, hospital and other care-related expenses, lost income and "suffered a permanent impairment in her power to labor and earn money." University of Louisville Health had not responded to a request for comment from the Courier Journal as of Tuesday afternoon. Racing Louisville had not released a public statement in response to DeMelo's lawsuit. Racing Louisville medical trainers have been commended for their swift response to DeMelo's on-field collapse and are not the subject of DeMelo's lawsuit. DeMelo collapsed, convulsed on field during game DeMelo took a seat on the field in the match's 47th minute. Trainers came out to assist her, and she fell back to the turf as her body appeared to go limp. Her legs convulsed, and trainers immediately called for additional medical assistance. Trainers from both teams then rushed out to assist as players walked off the field, some with their heads in their hands. DeMelo left Lumen Field in an ambulance not long after, and the match was promptly suspended before being resumed two days later. The collapse was the second on-field medical incident DeMelo experienced in 2025. On March 22, she left a road game against Bay FC on a stretcher. Per ESPN, she felt dizzy and tight in the chest during that game and struggled to breathe for about three minutes as her heart rate remained elevated. DeMelo told ESPN in May of 2025 that she was diagnosed in fall of 2024 with Graves' disease and hyperthyroidism. DeMelo, 28, played college soccer at USC from 2016-21. She joined Racing Louisville in 2022 and played for the USWNT during the 2023 World Cup.