Editing Mia Hamm (section)

===Washington Freedom, 2001–2003===
In 2001, Hamm was a [[2000 WUSA player allocation|founding player]] in the first professional women's soccer league in the United States, the [[Women's United Soccer Association]] (WUSA), and played for the [[Washington Freedom (soccer)|Washington Freedom]] from 2001 to 2003.<ref>{{cite web|last=Minichino|first=Adam|title=Growth of women's soccer sets stage for WUSA's debut in 2001|url=http://onlineathens.com/stories/110200/dog_1102000077.shtml|work=Athens Banner-Herald|access-date=November 15, 2013|date=November 2, 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011126140913/http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/110200/dog_1102000077.shtml|archive-date=November 26, 2001|url-status=dead}}</ref> Throughout the league's history, Hamm was hailed as the star of the league and used heavily in marketing and promotion. In a poll of 1,000 advertising executives conducted in 2001, she was voted "the most appealing female athlete", garnering almost twice as many votes as the runner-up [[Anna Kournikova]].<ref name="wapo_041101">{{Cite news |last=Alexander |first=Rachel |date=April 11, 2001 |title=Hamm in a League of Her Own |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/04/11/hamm-in-a-new-league-of-her-own/258e3378-4c4e-4f08-a3d2-184fb93bc67a/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114213028/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/04/11/hamm-in-a-new-league-of-her-own/258e3378-4c4e-4f08-a3d2-184fb93bc67a/ |archive-date=November 14, 2020 |access-date=June 9, 2017 |newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref>

During the league's inaugural match between the Freedom and [[Bay Area CyberRays]] at [[RFK Stadium]] in Washington, D.C., Hamm was fouled in the penalty area resulting in a [[Penalty kick (association football)|penalty kick]] that her teammate [[Pretinha]] converted to mark the first goal scored in the league. The Freedom won 1–0.<ref>{{cite web|title=90-Year Anniversary Articles: WUSA |url=http://www.ussoccer.com/news/articles/2003/04/90-year-anniversary-articles-wusa.aspx |publisher=US Soccer |access-date=November 17, 2013 |date=April 16, 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530014632/http://www.ussoccer.com/news/articles/2003/04/90-year-anniversary-articles-wusa.aspx |archive-date=May 30, 2013 }}</ref> In addition to the 34,148 fans in attendance being greater than any [[MLS]] game that weekend, the [[Turner Network Television|Turner Network Television (TNT)]] broadcast reached 393,087 households: more than two MLS games broadcast on [[ESPN]] and [[ESPN2]].<ref name=grainey_book>{{cite book|last=Grainey|first=Timothy F.|title=Beyond it Like Beckham: The Global Phenomenon of Women's Soccer|year=2012|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=978-0-8032-4036-0}}</ref> Playing as a midfielder and forward, Hamm played in 19 of the Freedom's 21 matches during the [[2001 WUSA season|2001 season]].<ref name="great_americans_in_sport_hamm_book">{{cite book|last1=Christopher|first1=Matt|title=Great Americans in Sport: Mia Hamm|date=2015|publisher=Little, Brown Books for Young Readers|isbn=978-0316261005}}</ref> She led the team in goals (6) and assists (4).<ref name="great_americans_in_sport_hamm_book"/>
The Freedom finished in seventh place during the regular season with a {{Win–loss record|w=6|l=12|d=3}} record.<ref name="great_americans_in_sport_hamm_book"/>

Hamm suffered a knee injury in November 2001 that kept her off the pitch for several months of early 2002.<ref name="icons_womens_sport_book" /><ref>{{cite web|last1=Davidson|first1=Gary|title=Hamm scheduled for knee surgery, will be out at least eight weeks, missing beginning of WUSA season.|url=http://www.soccertimes.com/proleagues/wusa/2002/feb22.htm|publisher=Soccer Times|access-date=June 18, 2017|date=February 22, 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502233347/http://www.soccertimes.com/proleagues/wusa/2002/feb22.htm|archive-date=May 2, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Despite playing only half the [[2002 WUSA season|2002 season]] with the Freedom, she finished the season with eight goals.<ref name="icons_womens_sport_book" />  The team finished in third place during the [[2002 WUSA season|2002 season]] with a {{Win–loss record|w=11|l=5|d=5}} record and advanced to the playoffs.<ref name="2002_wusa_standings">{{cite web|title=2002 WUSA Standings|url=http://wusa.com/stats_standings/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021209180627/http://wusa.com/stats_standings/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 9, 2002|publisher=WUSA|access-date=June 18, 2017}}</ref> After winning the semi-final against the [[Philadelphia Charge]] 1–0, the team was defeated 3–2 by the [[Carolina Courage]] in the [[2002 WUSA Founders Cup]].<ref name="AmericanSports_History_of_Icons" /> Hamm scored the Freedom's second goal in the 64th minute.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=French|first1=Scott|title=WUSA: Prinz leads Carolina to thrilling Founders Cup triumph|url=https://www.socceramerica.com/article/9801/wusa-prinz-leads-carolina-to-thrilling-founders-c.html|magazine=Soccer America|access-date=June 18, 2017|date=August 24, 2002}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

During the [[2003 WUSA season|2003 season]], Hamm started in 16 of the 19 games in which she played. Her 11 goals ranked second on the team behind Abby Wambach's 13 while her 11 assists ranked first.<ref name="2003_freedom_stats">{{cite web|title=2003 Washington Freedom|url=http://www.wusa.com:80/stats_standings/washington/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040103125236/http://www.wusa.com/stats_standings/washington/|archive-date=January 3, 2004|publisher=WUSA|access-date=June 18, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The Freedom finished in fourth place during the regular season with a {{Win–loss record|w=9|l=8|d=4}} record and secured a berth in the playoffs.<ref name="2003_wusa_standings">{{cite web|title=2003 Standings|url=http://wusa.com/stats_standings/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031008095619/http://wusa.com/stats_standings/|archive-date=October 8, 2003|publisher=WUSA|access-date=June 18, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Hamm finished her club career as a WUSA champion when the Freedom defeated the [[Atlanta Beat (WUSA)|Atlanta Beat]] 2–1 in overtime to win the [[Women's United Soccer Association#Founders Cup champions|Founders Cup]] on August 24, 2003.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=WUSA: Wambach leads Freedom in Founders Cup thriller|url=https://www.socceramerica.com/article/4739/wusa-wambach-leads-freedom-in-founders-cup-thrill.html|magazine=Soccer America|access-date=June 18, 2017|date=August 24, 2003|archive-date=April 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419040410/http://www.socceramerica.com/article/4739/wusa-wambach-leads-freedom-in-founders-cup-thrill.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>