A damning report was published Monday after a yearlong investigation that was commissioned following widespread allegations against coaches and other league officials.
The United States lost to Canada during the Tokyo Olympics.
The National Women's Soccer League was plagued by a culture of verbal and emotional abuse and sexual harassment with few protections in place.
According to investigators, players were subjected to manipulation that was about power, not improving performance.
The league and the U.S. Soccer Federation didn't take any steps to protect players and didn't make the most basic of workplace protections.
The organizations and individual teams failed to respond appropriately when allegations and evidence of abuse were brought to their attention, allowing abusive coaches to switch from team to team in order to hide their wrongdoing.
According to investigators, the report focused on three specific coaches, including Paul Riley, the winningest coach in the league, who had allegations of sexual misconduct go without league or federation action for seven years.
According to the report, Chicago Red Stars coachRory Dames created a hostile environment for players and Verbally abused them during games.
While the investigation centered on professional-level soccer, investigators wrote that the abuse is "rooted in a deeper culture in women's soccer" that starts in the youth league.
The NWSL players describe the verbal and emotional abuse they receive. The players are not losing hair. They are one of the best athletes in the world.
The investigation into women's soccer began a year ago. Nearly half of the league's coaches left their posts in a single season over allegations of misconduct sparked by The Athletic which published a bombshell report on Riley that outlined allegations he sexually coerced players across multiple teams and leagues. The league and the federation promised to fix the issues uncovered by the investigation. Cindy Parlow Cone said in a statement that she was "heartbroken" by the contents of the report, which made clear that systemic changes are needed at every level of our game. A task force will be created to address the report's concerns. The National Women's Soccer League said in a statement that officials would review the report and that they would take responsibility for the lessons learned.
The National Women's Soccer League canceled upcoming games due to abuse allegations.
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