More than half of the teams in the National Women's Soccer League report Misconduct, according to a final report from the NWSL/NWSL PA joint investigation unit.
Sally Yates conducted an investigation on behalf of the U.S. Soccer Federation.
The investigators wrote that neglect, concealment, and inattentiveness allow misconduct to grow.
According to the report, the NWSL has increased efforts to eradicate misconduct, embraced greater accountability, and experienced a cultural shift. There is a lot to be done. More than half of the League's clubs have been the subject of reports of ongoing malfeasance.
Strengthening anti-harassment policies, developing and implementing guidelines that address appropriate interactions between club staff and players, developing and implementing trainings that reflect and address player and staff experiences are some of the recommendations in the report.
The players spoke out.
Burke said that the players took the first steps to bring them to this moment. The NWSL was given a chance at transformation by players who demanded a reckoning when faced with the choice of silence or speaking out. They are deserving of our thanks and respect.
"We call on the league, U.S. Soccer, NWSL clubs, and everyone in leadership throughout the soccer ecosystems to demonstrate the same courage and commitment to eradicate the conduct that our players have shown."
There is a culture of abuse, silence and fear of retaliation due to a lack of job security at the U.S. Soccer, League, and individual clubs.
The NWSL had a management contract with the U.S. Soccer Federation until 2020 but did not have a players' union until 2018? The first anti-harassment policy of the NWSL was pushed by players and was not implemented until April 2021.
The Yates report was started after a report in The Athletic that detailed allegations of sexual harassment and coercion against former Portland Thorns manager Paul Riley as well as other allegations of misconduct, including that of former Chicago Red Stars manager.
Five male head coaches were either fired or forced to resign as a result of non-soccer reasons, including allegations of sexual harassment, racist remarks, and a toxic work culture. The general manager of one of the teams was terminated.
The transgressions that took place with the North Carolina Courage are detailed in the report.
The NWSL and the U.S. Soccer Federation were found to have contributed to an environment that allowed abuse to take place.
The report shows how our league failed to protect our players. First and foremost, I apologize to our players for the mistakes they've made. They should be able to participate at the highest level in a sport they love.
Berman's commitment to a safe, healthy environment for players was echoed by the U.S. Soccer.
The news release said that they look forward to getting an even deeper understanding of the cultural and systemic dynamics that led to abuse in women's professional soccer. As the national governing body for our sport, U.S. Soccer's highest priority is participant safety.
There were instances of emotional abuse related to the topics of player weight, race and sexual orientation.
According to the report, club staff in positions of power made inappropriate sexual remarks to players, mocked players' bodies, pressured players to lose weight, and created volatile and domineering working conditions.
They used offensive language towards players, displayed insensitivity towards players' mental health, and retaliated against players who reported concerns. From the earliest years of the League to the present, conduct against players has been a problem.
A total of 100 current and former players were interviewed by investigators. There were 90 interviews of former and current club staff, 15 interviews of current and former league leadership and staff, and eight interviews of current and former US soccer personnel.
The Portland Thorns, Racing Louisville, the Chicago Red Stars and the USSF delayed access to documents and key witnesses, like the Yates report.
The NWSL's history and culture created an environment where abuse could take place and reporting of misdeeds was discouraged, according to the investigation.
The report said that players distrusted the league because they didn't think it would adequately investigate instances of wrongdoing.
In Portland, Riley was fired for engaging in sexual harassment but later was allowed to keep coaching in the NWSL.
According to the report, the NWSL and the USSF were unable to protect players from abuse or from being retaliated for reporting it.
The league failed to properly vet technical staff, according to the investigation. The former Racing Louisville coach didn't have the required qualifications.
The report said that the league didn't establish what constituted a crime.
There was no written policy on the responsibility of the clubs, the league, or the USSF in regards to reports of illegal activity.
The report found that the clubs, league and federation didn't share enough information. The result is that coaches such as former Thorns and Courage coach Riley, as well as Holly, were able to find employment elsewhere even though they had been accused of wrongdoing.
After being fired for cause by Portland, Riley moved on to manage the Courage and engaged in unwanted advances towards a Courage player.
Riley called her "chubby" and said other things about her weight.
Although he told GM Johnson about the comments, he didn't follow up with Kurtz.
The report gave information about Houston Dash GM and manager. When the league received complaints from players that he engaged in "ongoing emotional misconduct and insensitivity," they placed him on a temporary suspension.
According to the investigation, a majority of the players felt that his behavior did not rise to the level of abuse.
The investigators concluded that there was an incident in which Clarkson berated the team because he thought that some of them had been out drinking the night before an exhibition game played at high altitude.
The report sheds light on how the NWSL commissioner hid information.
According to the report, Plush tried to stop teams from hiring Riley. Sky Blue was told not to hire Riley.
Sky Blue should be given information about the allegations of sexual harassment against Riley, the circumstances of Riley's dismissal from the Thorns, and the conclusions of the Thorns investigation.
The attempt by the Western New York flash to hire Riley was the subject of a similar effort by Plush.
According to the report, Plush expressed concern in internal emails about the fact that the flash were going to hire Riley. The flash did not get any information about why they should not pursue Riley from the man who tried to discourage them.
According to Plush, he was told that the information could not be shared with the league. That position is not consistent with other evidence, including an email from counsel for the Thorns and Plush.
There were instances of "offensive and sensitive behavior" based on race or ethnicity.
The Washington Spirit coach used racial epithets, made jokes about race and ethnicity, and undermined activism on issues of race, according to a report.
According to the report, there were multiple instances when the NWSL or clubs did not investigate racially-insensitive conduct or attempt to improve conditions for players of color until allegations of racism were brought to the public eye.
One player observed that her club was silent on issues of racism by not recognizing Juneteenth or doing work to support the Black community, which she said was in contrast to her former club, where there were frequent discussions about anti-racism.
The player said that the burden shouldn't be on black players to educate others but on other players.
There were instances of offensive and inappropriate behavior related to sexual orientation, according to the report.
According to the report, one club employee said that Riley made comments about lesbian players that negatively impacted their playing performance.
The head coach of another club commented on players' sexual orientation when they joined the team.
The coach would ask the players if they were dating women, and the other coach would compare the players who were dating women with the players who were not.
According to the report, Cromwell and Greene were fired for retaliating against players who were involved in the previous investigation.
There were allegations of retaliation against Huw Williams, who was the Kansas City manager at the time.
Managers would make inappropriate comments about a player's weight, according to the report.
The report said that Vera Pauw wanted to control and micromanage players' diet and exercise regimen even when her weight loss directives were inconsistent with sports medicine best practices. Pauw's comments made a teammate struggling with an eating disorder feel worse.
Benstiti was told not to talk about weight or nutrition with the players.
Benstiti hid food from players and commented on their food consumption at the 2020 Challenge Cup despite the instructions.
There were additional details regarding the firing of Alyse LaHue. According to the report, LaHue made unwanted sexual advances towards a player.
The league decided to fire LaHue in July 2021.
After participating in an initial interview with investigators, LaHue, through her counsel, canceled another scheduled interview and refused to change her mind.
The report states that many players bravely recounted painful and personal experiences before and during the investigation.
The experiences of players, not only in isolated moments but also more broadly, as women playing soccer in a league historically owned and run by men, are reflected in the individual incidents and recurrent practices detailed in this report.
The actions of League and U.S. Soccer personnel show that there is a need for proactive prevention and detection.
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