He then characterized Press as "impossible to work with" and suggested she had a "fragile mentality." That same day, NWSL General Counsel Lisa Levine also resigned. This may require removing some questions that were included in prior player surveys that could be used to identify responding players, including questions about previous teams, pay, and nationality. Garcia, who conducted all of the interviews and collected and reviewed documents and text messages from individuals she interviewed, is not a lawyer and lacked experience in conducting sensitive investigations. Levine had previously instructed the HR employee to monitor the email account and to elevate any complaints so that Levine could then determine next steps and manage any subsequent investigations. 2. Alyse LaHue: Women's pro soccer is ready to ride the wave of a big She recalled Riley's behavior oscillating between positive comments about her performance and tearing her down-she had positive experiences with Riley in 2018, but recalled Riley spiraling [everything] back to [her]" and leaving meetings with him in tears" in 2019. While traveling for an away game in June, Riley pressured Shim over text message to have a drink with him in his hotel room. Players reported that they felt confused by the information shared with them and did not understand exactly why Holly had been fired. However, according to the report, three players had "provide[d] specific examples" of this behavior. Another club staff member felt that Holly lost trust in the locker room" because of his romantic relationship. Holly spoke with investigators for the Yates report but pulled out of a scheduled interview with the joint investigation after the release of the Yates report, which of course publicly revealed his misconduct for the first time. The investigation was conducted in a trauma-informed, survivor-centered manner, respecting the empowerment, autonomy, and physical and mental wellbeing of any individual impacted by inappropriate conduct. One player recalled a specific comment Dames made about "her attractiveness." E. Players told the team's head coach that Black players on the team felt unsupported and that the posts did not align with the team's values. In 2017, Daniels had withdrawn from a USWNT camp so as not to wear an LGBT pride jersey, and according to an article in The Athletic, "repeatedly made homophobic statements on her public social media." Historically, the processes and procedures for players to elevate concerns about club staff have varied across clubs. . Whisler cautioned, Don't do [that] out [of] emotion. The Joint Investigative Team spoke to other players on the Red Stars who reported similar concerns of retaliation. On July 16, 2021, Gotham announced that General Manager Alyse LaHue was terminated following an investigation into a complaint that she had violated NWSL policy. NWSL bans former Gotham FC coach for life, suspends former GM in wake For example, the interviews of Shim and Farrelly were conducted at the Thorns's stadium-rather than a neutral locationwhere Shim and Farrelly may have been seen by club personnel or other players. Players from other clubs shared similar sentiments: for example, players from one club said they feared a coach would retaliate if they reported concerns about him because they had seen him lash out" at players during meetings and because he had once removed a player from the roster after an on-field disagreement. 53, indicating he wanted to go to Simon's apartment and describing "inappropriate things he would do." Gotham FC fires general manager Alyse LaHue - The Athletic Unprofessional Communications . When Holly was let go-not for his mistreatment of players but for a reported relationship with a player-Sky Blue publicly framed Holly's departure as a mutual agreement, did not acknowledge Holly's misconduct, and expressed gratitude towards him. The League's policy should ensure that player privacy is not used as a pretextual basis to justify agreements that undermine player safety and fail to protect the confidentiality of players who are impacted by misconduct. C. 4. 116, 3. One player recalled that there were instances where the team could see that a person was "mentally destroyed," and Dames "would just keep digging the knife in." The NWSL should consider expanding and further supporting formal pipelines for former and current players who are interested in coaching and support those players in their pursuit of coaching positions, beyond the current Players expressed concerns that Whisler was loyal to Dames and justified Dames's behavior even when players brought concerns directly to Whisler. Hendrix recalled Holly would get mad if Simon did not respond to his messages. Dames joined the Red Stars in 2011 as a volunteer coach, when the club was part of the semi-professional Women's Premier Soccer League ("WPSL). As a result, the creation and enforcement of policies and in some cases, investigations and the communication of their findings-fell through the cracks. Multiple players reported that there was an overlap between these players and those who had been vocal at the meeting. Whisler shared his perspective with the Joint Investigative Team that "if you're a coach and you know a player doesn't want to be in your environment, has other players upset because she turned something in to the League there's a chemistry issue that I think has to be thought through from a team health perspective." Players also told the Joint Investigative Team that Riley [made] a face when players lifted their shirts to wipe their faces, commented that players had refrigerator[s] on their ass[es]," and stated that a player was eating too many hamburgers." Numerous individuals relayed that as a result, Cromwell and Greene stopped speaking to players who they believed had participated in the March Investigation and who did not show contrition in the aftermath. Instead, the vetting of player-facing club employees including whether background checks were conducted and what those background checks included-was left entirely to the clubs' discretion. The NWSL should consider avenues to create a formal partnership with the Black Women's Player Collective to hear and address the Collective's concerns and improve the NWSL experience for Black players. Many players told the Joint Investigative Team that they defaulted to viewing the NWSLPA as the most trustworthy channel to receive and respond to player complaints. Some coaches and staff staunchly defended certain conduct as "tough coaching," demanding, or directness, even when players found the conduct emotionally abusive. Williams reported that he had a good relationship with this player during the season. Rutgers has been a great partner to us . In his interview by the Joint Investigative Team, Clarkson acknowledged having this meeting with players, but reported that he did not single out or attack any players. 77, temporary administrative leave pending the results of an investigation. It established that Riley, Shim, Farrelly, and Thorp drank at a bar one night and ended up at Riley's apartment, where alcohol was made available. NJ/NY Gotham FC and general manager Alyse LaHue have parted ways. A third player recalled that during trips for away games, the team would "go to the bar together and Riley would "be there buying players . A majority of the players who participated in the investigation raised the concern that "Dames would get close to players, learn personal information about them, and then use the information he gained . First, many players were hesitant to share information with the Joint Investigative Team. 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. He often invited certain players to have lunch or dinner with him, taking one small group of players out to dinner on a regular basis. She recalled thinking at the time, "they're all adults, and did not consider the "context of how these people met." The Flash announced Riley as their head coach in February 2016. 113 Plush, the senior-most executive at the League, did not take any steps to ensure that the Flash, the Courage, and the players who would be coached by Riley were aware of the risks he posed. While Whisler acknowledged receiving each of these complaints, he said he felt there was no "pattern" of complaints and wished he had received more information in order to take action earlier. 5. While Simon's parents gave Pearce Rampone a tour of the home, Holly grabbed Simon's buttocks and felt her over her leggings. Sky Blue had three picks in the first round of the National Women's Soccer . A few days after Farrelly's complaint to the NWSL, on May 3, 2021, an anonymous complainant emailed the NWSL Office and NWSL HR Office email accounts to report sexual harassment by Riley against Thorns players during Riley's time with the Thorns. 6. In 2019, when Riley was under consideration for the USWNT head coach position, Wahlke received a copy of the Thorns's 2015 investigative report regarding Riley, and she participated in discussions regarding his suitability for the position. On August 16, 2017, Sky Blue announced that Holly was "stepping down" as head coach, and the club said it had come to a mutual agreement with Holly" and that he left "on good terms." It's not just this team. 21, not done with other deleted emails. In her interview with the Joint Investigative Team, Ellis did not recall players bringing to her attention verbal abuse or racist or sexist comments by NWSL coaches during her tenure with the USWNT. coach, and Alyse LaHue, the former general manager of Gotham F.C., each received two-year suspensions from the league. sometimes things trickled up." I have no idea." At the club level, U.S. Soccer's failure to share its findings allowed Whisler to take the position that U.S. Soccer essentially had cleared Dames of wrongdoing and that no action was required by the Red Stars. She also said she was "petrified" that Wilkinson would trade her from the Thorns because Riley had portrayed himself and Wilkinson as good friends. Instead, it appears that, in the face of threatened litigation by Riley, and on the advice of counsel, the Thorns sought to limit their potential liability to their former coach. Simon eventually deleted Snapchat from her phone because she did not want Holly to continue sending her inappropriate photos, but Holly would ask her why she had deleted the application or encourage her to download it again. Things actually can be spoken up about, be brought to light." When Simon arrived at Holly's house, Pearce Rampone was not there. Players Experienced an Array of Interpersonal Misconduct and Reports of That Misconduct Were Mishandled. We discussed them at length in his interview." When asked about the 2015 player survey responses regarding Lines, Gulati said he did not recall having any conversations about Lines's treatment of players, and Gulati did not know why Lines was moved from the head coach role to a front office role. She also emphasized that she was focused on getting a balanced" perspective from interviewees; in other One player who was waived after the 2021 season had signed a multi-year contract extension with the club before the August meeting. At the same time, certain behaviors that have been normalized as "tough" coaching, such as screaming in players' faces, are slowly but increasingly recognized as inappropriate and abusive. Shim told Garcia that she did not want Riley to coach anywhere in the NWSL, which is why she had alerted the NWSL commissioner, Plush. 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.. Riley told Kaleigh Kurtz that he could "see the cellulite on [her] legs and that in order to retain her starting position, she needed to lose 14 pounds in 10 days. Text messages between Whisler and Dames in the days following the complaint suggest that Levines approach to the investigation increased the risk of both retaliation against players and interference with the investigation. Following the meeting in which Clarkson requested player apologies, at players' prompting, a Black club staff member led a presentation discussing racial injustice at another club meeting. READ MORE: Ex-Philadelphia Independence coach Paul Riley fired from NWSL team amid allegations of sexual misconduct. "The continuation of ongoing investigations initiated under the NWSL's current antiharassment policy, and the recommendation of sanctions where appropriate." Additionally, Wahlke told the Joint Investigative Team that around this time, she learned from Becca Roux, Executive Director of the USWNTPA, that the USWNTPA would not support Riley's candidacy for this position. The content of this report is sensitive and graphic. 119, financial support for players pursuing coaching licenses, with the long-term goal of hiring a greater number of qualified former NWSL players as coaches. I'm told that people at Players also lacked uniform trainings addressing how to identify and respond to inappropriate conduct. This is where the beer comes in. These sentiments, in combination with the downplaying of the allegations and findings against Riley, contributed to the Flash's and Courage's limited understanding of the events of 2015. When interviewed by the Joint Investigative Team, Burke admitted making these comments but did not acknowledge their offensiveness. Inappropriate Sexual and Objectifying Remarks to Players The Athletic recounted the experiences of two former players, Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly, and reported that Riley sexually coerced players, provided alcohol to players and drank excessively with them, and made derogatory comments about players' weight and sexual orientation. The Courage and the Spirit listed an anonymous reporting hotline whereby employees could make complaints, but no clubs referenced the NWSL RealResponse hotline in their policies. Coupled with the fact that Clarkson served as both head coach and general manager, this perceived close relationship led players to feel like they had no avenues to report their concerns and that no one was monitoring Clarkson's conduct to ensure that it was appropriate. Due in part to the perceived close relationship between Burke and club ownership and management, players did not feel comfortable expressing concerns about Burke. The Spirit's handbook stated that "all employees and contractors are required to receive and acknowledge receipt of the NWSL Anti-Harassment Policy for a Safe Work Environment. C. Many players who spoke with the Joint Investigative Team were not aware that they could report concerns about misconduct to SafeSport. The NWSL should also periodically assess the effectiveness of its training programs by reviewing participant evaluations and ensuring that the training materials reflect the latest guidance or norms on workplace conduct. Simon felt scared and physically intimidated. . 121, 6. The policy, however, then states that [i]f a dating, romantic, or sexual relationship between a player and a staff member or between staff members develops, it must be disclosed to Human Resources" to allow the club "to take steps to protect the interest of [the] organization and the parties involved, which seems to suggest exceptions may be made to the policy. The failure by U.S. Soccer to share its investigation findings with the NWSL or the Red Stars was particularly perplexing in light of the fact that Wahlke had instructed the NWSL to stand down in its own investigation of Dames, and the fact that U.S. Soccer had concluded it was not in a position to take any action against Dames. The player wondered, "How the hell am I going to lose 10 to 15 pounds without starving myself? Since 2021, the League has taken some steps to rectify this issue. Shim had joined the Thorns during the NWSL's inaugural 2013 season, prior to Riley's hiring. 120, An explanation of the reporting channels should also be a key component to antiharassment training, anti-bullying training, anti-retaliation training, and any other trainings the NWSL or clubs provide. "I think historically, some leagues have focused too much on the children factor of our games," LaHue said. Collectively, this public reporting gave the impression of widespread misconduct by coaches and those in positions of power, and that U.S. Soccer, the NWSL, and clubs had failed to take measures to protect players and prevent future misconduct. 2. It's a vicious cycle." Insufficient Understanding of the Respective Roles of U.S. Soccer, the League, and Clubs in Investigating Misconduct