However, it is far from the only misconduct experienced by players. A player described Riley saying to players, "You fucking idiot," and "You have no idea what you're doing, why the fuck are you on the field, and another recalled Riley telling a player, "You're the clumsiest fucking player I've ever coached." The Committee could be comprised of League staff, club staff, club owners, and players. She still is not making the kind of money she might command in the corporate world, but LaHue is fairly certain she is having more fun. Sky Blue FC, soccer club owned by Gov. Murphy, unveils new name, logo - nj 98, Multiple players also voiced concerns that coaches found to have committed misconduct were not terminated but were instead allowed to resign from their positions. Numerous players reported that they experienced mental health challenges due to toxic and abusive working environments created by coaches' behavior and treatment of players. Nonetheless, substantial work remains to be done to ensure the safety of players in the NWSL, and effective change will need to last beyond one commissioner. On September 16, 2015, Shim reported Riley's conduct to the Thorns and to the NWSL. The Joint Investigative Team also posted these reporting lines on the NWSL webpage and in the League's Anti-Harassment Policy. To that point, during this investigation, the Joint Investigative Team received reports of ongoing misconduct at more than half the League's clubs. When asked to describe negative aspects of the team, one player responded, "[T]he head coach," and another responded [C]oaching staff. 2. These examples are illustrative and non-exhaustive; the policy makes clear that harassment can also include physical, visual, and written conduct, such as circulating or posting written materials that show hostility toward an individual because of their protected status, including derogatory cartoons, drawings, websites, emails, text messages, gifs, or memes. Farrelly said she felt coerced by Riley into having sexual intercourse on several occasions thereafter. Angie Long recalled that players raised concerns about how training and practices were being conducted, but did not recall the players raising any concerns about how Williams interacted with players on the team. Clubs and Owners 123, F. Both Williams and Angie Long recalled the club trying to find a trade within the NWSL for one player, but being unable to find a trade partner. Players described how emotional misconduct affected their performance. One-on-one or small group socializing for non-soccer purposes between players and individuals with supervisory authority may blur the boundaries between professional and personal relationships, present concerns of improper favoritism, or leave certain players feeling isolated or excluded. This was despite Shim and Farrelly both indicating in their 2021 communications that they were dissatisfied with the NWSL's response to the 2015 complaint and investigation, and Farrelly providing additional information regarding Riley that should have been of interest to the NWSL. Around this time, a Racing Louisville staff member raised concerns that Holly was romantically involved with another staff member at Racing Louisville and that this alleged relationship negatively impacted the team environment. Farrelly also emailed Baird and the NWSL HR Office email account in April 2021, stating she had "not only witnessed but also experienced firsthand extremely inappropriate conduct" by Riley, that she had raised "serious" allegations during the 2015 investigation that were not independently investigated, that she had experiences of Riley making comments about her personal relationships and sexual orientation in addition to what she reported during the 2015 investigation, and that there were "numerous instances of severe misconduct" involving Riley prior to when she joined the NWSL. In addition, Shim's complaint identified Farrelly as a target of Riley's misconduct, but Farrelly was not treated as a potential target of misconduct; her interview was brief and focused on Shim's allegations and on whether Farrelly had told anyone about them. In April 2021, the NWSL adopted its first such policy, called the AntiHarassment Policy for a Safe Work Environment (the "2021 Anti-Harassment Policy"). By the time U.S. Soccer's investigator contacted the complainant to interview her, the Red Stars had already traded her. The NWSL then informed the club that it was not in compliance with the policy. Kurtz said she cried on the phone, telling Hammond that her request was not about playing time-she said she did not feel comfortable being around Riley and told Hammond that Riley had called her chubby." The current policy states that prohibited retaliation could include adversely affecting working conditions, and the revised policy should expand upon what it means to adversely affect working conditions and provide specific examples, such as ostracizing or ignoring players, denying players training opportunities or playing time, or showing favoritism toward players. We have the benefit of what I hope is a cultural awakening around privilege and a cultural awakening around people trying to understand someone elses perspective, Berman said. They also feel the non-fraternization policy, first implemented in January 2018, must be more explicit, extend to staff beyond the head coach and "clarify that any sexual or romantic relationship between players and those in supervisory roles over players is strictly prohibited, even if the relationship is consensual. Based on the considerable efforts made to identify and collect all reasonably available sources of information, the Joint Investigative Team is confident in the soundness of its findings and the factual basis for the matters discussed in this Report. She also emphasized that she was focused on getting a balanced" perspective from interviewees; in other The League should consider requiring that clubs certify that they have revised their anti-harassment policies to meet the baseline requirements of the League's Anti-Harassment Policy and that they have disseminated their policies and the League's policy to all staff and players. . In response, the owner pointed out that the player was one of the highest-paid players in the League and discussed how club expenses came out of his own pocket. Riley returned from the restroom and asked the women, who had been assigned by Riley to share hotel rooms on team road trips during the season, if they "hooked up" while traveling for games, a notion he had raised even before that night and something they denied doing. A second investigation into systemic abuse in the National Women's Soccer League was released Wednesday, providing further details of how the league, its clubs and the U.S. Soccer Federation failed to protect players and allowed misconduct to run rampant throughout the 10-year-old league. One player also 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 regarding anti-racism and her coach thought "about the broader world and how that could affect your performance." For example, in 2021 following an NWSL game in Houston, Sarah Gorden, a Black player, posted on social media that her boyfriend, who went to see her in the stands after the game, was followed by stadium security and was told he would be arrested if he came close. As discussed above, after U.S. Soccer directed the League to hand over its investigation into Dames, the League was not briefed on the findings. The NWSL should advise clubs to offer players the opportunity to speak candidly about their views on prospective coaches or staff and should guard vigilantly against any potential retaliation or breach of confidentiality associated with players sharing their views. Examples of prohibited verbal conduct include epithets; derogatory comments or slurs; negative stereotyping; and jokes, kidding, or teasing about another person's protected status. [C]lub staff in positions of power made inappropriate sexual remarks to players, mocked players bodies, pressured players to lose unhealthy amounts of weight, crossed professional boundaries with players, and created volatile and manipulative working conditions, it says. One player stated that, "Dishonesty and manipulation from your coach creates a toxic environment." . Riley grabbed Shim, pulled her back against him, and tried to grind against her. One player reported that Williams stopped communicating with her, would ignore her when greeting other players, and made efforts to avoid her. A player reported similar conduct by Dames to The Washington Post. The Joint Investigative Team requested an interview with Holly, and he initially agreed to be interviewed. The results of all background checks should be shared with the League office and copies maintained for at least five years, subject to any applicable legal restrictions. The Joint Investigative Team spoke to multiple current and former players from the Red Stars, ranging from Dames's first season in the NWSL to his last. A player similarly described Riley policing details, like players' off-field wardrobes, and described his behavior as creating a constant state of being on edge." According to the report, one player recalled that players "felt forced to attend" social interactions with Dames, and if they did not, he "wouldn't look at [them] the next day at practice." The Joint Investigative Team also collected and reviewed relevant emails, texts, and WhatsApp messages from interviewees and the club. From simultaneous kickoffs to end the regular season, to relegating the Challenge Cup to On Monday, NJ/NY Gotham FC released their highly anticipated preseason roster. Cromwell also sought to waive or trade other such players. The changes we made were to become a better soccer team." The NWSL should consider consulting with the NWSLPA regarding how to best inform players about the results of such investigations in a manner that protects the confidentiality of players and other individuals who cooperated in the investigation. The Thorns terminated Riley in September 2015, though his contract was set to end in December of that year. And we have to do something about it." After his hire, OL Reign CEO Bill Predmore told Benstiti he was not allowed to discuss diet or weight with players. Two players expressed the concern that speaking out about issues of race could jeopardize a player's In the course of this investigation, the Joint Investigative Team spoke to 47 individuals with knowledge relevant to Riley, including current and former players, key leaders including owners and general managersfrom the Thorns and the Courage, and other current and former club staff, League staff, and U.S. Soccer staff who were involved in or had information about the 2015 Thorns Investigation and Riley's subsequent hiring at the Flash and the Courage. As described below, individuals from U.S. Soccer, including General Counsel Lisa Levine, her successor Chief Legal Officer Lydia Wahlke, President Sunil Gulati, and CEO Dan Flynn, failed on numerous occasions to disclose what they knew about Riley's misconduct to other NWSL clubs that hired him. In particular, and as detailed in the findings section of this Report, the Thorns, Racing Louisville, and the Red Stars withheld key documents from the Joint Investigative Team on these grounds until late in this investigation, and after U.S. Soccer released King & Spalding's USSF Report. Formation and Mandate of the Joint Investigative Team Such policies can create veils of secrecy around the dismissal of some coaches and allow them to be rehired elsewhere despite their misconduct. On the evening of the announcement of LaHues firing from Gotham, a statement was provided by Kelly Hoffman, attorney for Alyse LaHue via Meg Linehan of The Athletic on Twitter reading: Ms. Inadequate individual and institutional responses to this misconduct can further normalize and perpetuate the underlying bias, and dissuade reporting. VI. Baird suggested to Levine that they should set up a call with Farrelly, but Levine stated that they should email Farrelly first. This reduces the risk that the concentration of power in a single individual will chill reporting of misconduct. The NWSLPA and the League began collective bargaining in late 2020, and Meghann Burke was hired to a full-time position as the Executive Director of the NWSLPA in early 2021. One player recalled a specific comment Dames made about "her attractiveness." Indeed, the report notes at the outset: "Misconduct in the League is not wholly independent from abuse that begins in youth soccer, where many coaches' and players' formative experiences shaped the way they engaged in, or reacted to, misconduct and abuse in the NWSL. Spain shared Gorden's. The same player stated that Holly would "attack" another player about her boyfriend, and Holly would tell this player that he felt like he was dating her. The NWSL's Founding, Initial Success, and Challenges According to multiple interviewees, Clarkson did not allow the players to address the accusation that they had been drinking and told them, Cameras don't lie." 34, another club following the 2015 investigation. E. However, these surveys were not specifically intended to capture this information, and in multiple instances, the NWSL and U.S. Soccer failed to investigate or address comments from player surveys stating that club staff engaged in misconduct. He told the player that the club had provided Benstiti the opportunity to resign as "the most immediate and least risky path" to removing him from the club. 115, C. Novo could not recall the date of this meeting. A lack of clarity in the roles played by the NWSL and clubs in receiving and responding to complaints of misconduct has contributed to confusion about reporting channels. While the organization cut back its spending in 2002 and 2003, it could not recover financially. Alyse is the General Manager for Sky Blue FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Players at seven clubs (Racing Louisville, Gotham/Sky Blue, the Dash, the Courage, the Thorns, the Spirit, and the Red Stars) reported to the Joint Investigative Team that they were unaware of whether their clubs had HR personnel or that they otherwise did not know to whom they could report concerns at their clubs. This same player stated Riley called players "dumb, stupid, slow, idiotic, retarded" and "worthless," and remarked that the players had "no balls" and would never be better than the average 16 year old boy." In another example, Dames told the investigator that he revoked the media credentials of a player's boyfriend because he concluded that the boyfriend's presence was "not positive" based on a conversation with a USWNT coach. LaHue was appointed as general manager of NJ/NY Gotham FC (formerly Sky Blue FC) in September 2019, and has been credited with playing a major role in turning the club around, both on and off the . On one occasion, when she informed LaHue that other players had asked why LaHue was "so mean to her, LaHue responded, Tell them kids at the playground always pick on their crush." Players told the Joint Investigative Team that the assistant coach was away from the team for a few days, before returning without any warning to them. Richie Burke (Washington Spirit, Head Coach, 2019-2021) In some cases, even where clubs did have HR personnel, the clubs did not adequately inform players about the reporting channels available to them, leaving players under the impression that there were no HR personnel to whom they could report issues at the club. The staff member and player then moved to a second club, where they continued their relationship. These confidential reporting lines offered an opportunity for players to disclose information to the Joint Investigative Team without reporting through a club or the League. On multiple occasions, instances of misconduct reported to U.S. Soccer, the League, and its member clubs were inadequately investigated or addressed. Racing Louisville entered into a severance agreement with Holly upon his departure, which provided for a severance payment to Holly of $14,000.
