Freedom era In 2001, magicJack was founded as
Washington Freedom, a team of the defunct
Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). The Freedom were the only team to continue as an organization after WUSA folded, first playing exhibition games, then joining the
W-League. The Freedom were a founding member of WUSA's successor,
Women's Professional Soccer. In 2011, the team was purchased by
Dan Borislow, the owner of the phone tech company
magicJack, renamed, and relocated to
Boca Raton, Florida.
First season The team opened its
2011 season with three wins, and was the only team with a perfect record for the first month of the season. Despite this, coach
Mike Lyons was then dismissed, beginning a long period of coaching controversy, while both Borislow and
Christie Rampone functioned as team coach at various points. During the
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, magicJack lost in a WPS-record 6–0 defeat, falling to the
Philadelphia Independence. On July 21, 2011,
Abby Wambach was named as magicJack's player-coach for the rest of the season. The team was the visiting side when the
Western New York Flash of Rochester (Wambach's hometown) set the new WPS league record attendance of 15,404. magicJack ultimately finished third in both the regular season and the playoffs.
Battling with the league In the waning months of the season, Borislow sent an e-mail to his players telling them that WPS was threatening to terminate the team before the season was over, and he filed a suit in Florida courts. The league denied this accusation, and agreements were made for the suit to be dropped. On October 25, 2011, the Women's Professional League Governors voted to terminate the franchise, accusing owner
Dan Borislow of violations ranging from "unprofessional and disparaging treatment of his players" to "failure to pay his bills". WPS also stated, "Mr. Borislow's actions have been calculated to tarnish the reputation of the league and damage the league's business relationships." All players were able to sign with new teams when free agency started on November 9, 2011. Forward
Ella Masar was the only magicJack player to publicly condemn the team owner, Dan Borislow, accusing him of mistreating players, including her.
Exhibition team Borislow again filed suit in Florida courts; on January 10, 2012, the judge ruled that the league could not terminate the team's franchise without following its own procedures, and a hearing was set for the following week. Before adjudication resumed, WPS and Borislow reached another deal, this time allowing Borislow to keep his team as an exhibition team, guaranteeing magicJack at least seven games for each of the next two years, one at each of the WPS teams' home grounds and two in Florida. The WPS announced on January 30 that it was suspending the 2012 season, in part because of their legal dispute with Borislow. The league announced that it would cease all operations on May 18, 2012. Borislow died in July 2014 of a heart attack after playing in a soccer game. ==Players==