An independent investigation into the scandals that erupted in the National Women’s Soccer League last season found that emotional abuse and sexual misconduct were systemic in the sport, affecting multiple teams, coaches and players, according to a report published on Monday.
“The abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women’s soccer, starting in the youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coaching and blurs the lines between coaches and players,” wrote the former U.S. attorney general Acting United Sally Q. Yates in her report on the investigation. .
US Soccer commissioned the investigation from Yates and the law firm King & Spaulding after former NWSL players Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim filed allegations of sexual harassment and coercion dating back a decade involving the former coach Paul Riley. His account was published by The Athletic in September 2021.
Riley, who denied the allegations, was quickly fired as head coach of the North Carolina Courage, and NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird resigned.
But it was clear that the problems were widespread. Five of the NWSL’s 10 head coaches last season were fired or left amid allegations of misconduct.
“The verbal and emotional abuse described by players in the NWSL isn’t just ‘tough’ training. And the players affected are not shrinking violets. They are among the best athletes in the world,” Yates wrote.
More than 200 people were interviewed by the researchers. About two dozen organizations and individuals provided documents. US Soccer also provided documents and the company reviewed 89,000 deemed likely to be relevant.
U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone called the findings “heartbreaking and deeply concerning.” The report recounts an episode in 2013, when Parlow Cone was coaching the Portland Thorns, in which she herself experienced an inappropriate comment from a team executive.
“I’ve been a part of this game all my life, from youth to professional and international level. So the women’s game is very important to me. And I know many of the players in this report. Many of them I coached,” Parlow Cone said. “I thought it was really crazy that the players had to go through that.”
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Focus on 3 former coaches
The report made numerous recommendations to prioritize player health and safety. Among them is the requirement that teams accurately disclose coach misconduct to the league and the football federation to ensure that coaches cannot move between teams. It also calls for meaningful vetting of coaches and a timely investigation into allegations of abuse.
The NWSL said it was in the process of reviewing the report. The league and the NWSL Players Association are also conducting an investigation.
“We recognize the anxiety and mental strain these pending investigations have caused and the trauma many, including players and staff, are having to relive. We continue to admire their courage in coming forward to share their stories and influence all necessary changes to continue moving our league forward,” NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said in a statement.
“Establishing trust and confidence between the league, its players and other key stakeholders remains a central focus for the NWSL, and we know that we must learn and take responsibility for the painful lessons of the past in order for the League be better. future.”
Parlow Cone would not speculate on possible discipline for teams across the league.
“This is really systemic, and so the league is going to do what it has to do. U.S. Soccer, we’re going to do what we have to do. But, broadly speaking, we have to make sure that no team. no organization, no individual, no executive can put the players in the position they put them in,” Parlow Cone said.
The investigation focused on three former coaches, Riley, Christy Holly of Racing Louisville and Rory Dames of the Chicago Red Stars.
I want to do everything in my power to make sure no other player experiences what I did. This report allows our voices to finally be heard.— Former NWSL player Erin Simon
It tells of an encounter in April 2021 between Holly and a player, Erin Simon, who is now playing in Europe. Holly invited her to watch game film with him and allegedly told her that for every pass she botched, he would touch her. Simon told investigators that Holly “pushed her hands down her pants and up her shirt.”
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Simon, now with Leicester City, said too many athletes suffer in silence because they are afraid they won’t be heard.
“I know because that’s how I felt,” the 28-year-old said in a statement. “During many difficult days, only my faith sustained me and kept me going. I want to do everything in my power so that no other player has to go through what I did. This report allows our voices to finally be heard you see and it’s the first step to achieving the respectful workplace we all deserve.”
Holly was fired for cause, but Racing Louisville declined to publicly state the reason. Yates’ report noted that Racing did not provide investigators with details about Holly’s employment, citing mutual non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses.
Farrelly said the harassment she suffered began in 2011 when she was a player in the Philadelphia Independence Women’s Professional Soccer League. Riley was his coach.
He told The Athletic that Riley’s abuse continued when he was with the Portland Thorns in 2014 and 2015. Shim, a former Thorns player, also said he suffered harassment. No women are playing in the NWSL now.
The Thorns said they investigated Riley in 2015 while he was with the team and reported the findings to the league. They did not renew his contract but did not make public the reasons.
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The report said the Thorns did not receive certain information and tried to prevent investigators from using the team’s 2015 report.
The League “several times refused to investigate”
“The Portland Thorns interfered with our access to relevant witnesses and raised misleading legal arguments in an attempt to prevent our use of relevant documents,” Yates wrote.
Riley went on to coach the Western New York Flash, which later moved to North Carolina and was renamed.
When the scandal broke last year, former Thorns forward Alex Morgan posted on social media: “The league was made aware of these allegations multiple times and repeatedly refused to investigate the allegations. The league must accept responsibility for a process that failed to protect its own allegations. players from this abuse.”
Morgan also said Shim and Farrelly asked the NWSL early last year for a new investigation into Riley’s behavior, but were rebuffed.
The United States Women’s National Team Players Association released a statement: “All players and employees deserve to work in an environment free from discrimination, harassment and abusive conduct. The USWNTPA commends the courage of the survivors, players current and former skinners who came forward to speak out against the abusive practices that have become too normalized in the NSWL and women’s football in general.
“At the same time, the USWNTPA is dismayed that some NWSL clubs and USSF staff have obstructed the investigation; those who have not should cooperate fully with the ongoing NWSL/NWSLPA investigation immediately.”
US Soccer said its board of directors and a leadership team will immediately begin implementing the report’s recommendations.
“U.S. Soccer and the entire soccer community must do better, and I have faith that we can use this report and its recommendations as a critical turning point for all organizations charged with ensuring player safety ” said Parlow Cone. “We have an important job to do and we are committed to doing that job and leading change across the football community.”