The player in question denied calling Harrington to ask for his help and noted Harrington "was never the one called to come assist." For the player, the offer "was weird" and not appropriate." The NWSL's current processes and requirements, while improved, can be better implemented. . The new report claimed it studied all reports of inappropriate conduct toward players in the league since its launch in 2012. 113, players and those in supervisory roles over players is strictly prohibited, even if the relationship is consensual. Player Reports of Misconduct During the USSF Dames Investigation The NWSL should consider whether players and staff would benefit from the League establishing guidelines on appropriate socializing between players and individuals with supervisory authority over players, including head coaches. It should also provide examples of the types of personal attacks or degradation of players that are prohibited by the Anti-Harassment Policy. 78, reasons for the waiver/contract buyout and other proposed waivers, several additional considerations supported the conclusion that retaliation was a motivating factor. The Lowdown: Reporting on the Alyse LaHue story Lack of Uniform Training Shim told the Joint Investigative Team that it would be an easy thing for Riley to claim that her performance had decreased to justify the drop in playing time. This player sensed that Riley "wanted to keep [her] feeling like [she] owed him and would do favors for him. Yet, because of the deficiencies of the investigation and the systemic failures of U.S. Soccer, the NWSL, and the Red Stars, Dames's behavior went unaddressed during his nine seasons as head coach. She recalled thinking that now that he was the head coach for her team-and therefore her boss-the inappropriate behavior might stop. As discussed above, the USSF Dames Investigation resulted in a draft" report. The Courage understood Riley had denied this allegation. The NWSL announced on October 3, 2021, that it had retained Covington to conduct an independent investigation into workplace misconduct within the League and to recommend reforms. Despite this instruction, multiple people observed Benstiti commenting on players' food consumption at the 2020 Challenge Cup, where Benstiti also hid food from players. Players reported that Riley often inquired about and commented on players' romantic and dating relationships. The Joint Investigative Team also reviewed documents collected from the League relating to League organizational structure, policies, and trainings regarding harassment, abuse, and discrimination, as well as documents related to complaints and reports of misconduct and investigations into those reports of misconduct, and communications between League personnel. Third, the Joint Investigative Team found that the Thorns, the NWSL, and U.S. Soccer failed on numerous occasions to fully and clearly communicate the allegations and findings against Riley to other NWSL clubs that subsequently hired Riley. Holly then declined to speak to the Joint Investigative Team. 9. 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. The report, however, acknowledges that "a majority of players expressed the view that Clarkson's treatment of players did not rise to the level of abuse or misconduct. Some players reported feeling that the incident left them feeling attacked, scared, and on edge. Having provided the investigative report on Riley to U.S. Soccer and the League, and on the stated basis of legal advice, the club directed inquiries about Riley to the NWSL and U.S. Soccer. .8 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. Players also emphasized that Dames often focused his yelling on fringe players, who started in some games but not all. The policy should provide clear definitions and explanations of microaggressions so staff and players can identify and understand them, and it should explain how microaggressions and racist, antisemitic, and other derogatory language can constitute harassment. Whisler received a copy of the organizational climate review on November 21, 2021, and recalled that he was "repulsed" by the findings. Additionally, Whisler repeatedly minimized and dismissed concerns raised by players and staff about Dames. Only two clubs' employee handbooks-the Spirit's and Gotham's-referenced the NWSL Anti-Harassment Policy. Inquiry Finds Widespread Misconduct In Women's Pro Soccer 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. Like any league or business in its infant stages, we learn from experience and mistakes. B. The NWSL should share with U.S. Soccer when a club employee is removed from a club due to a finding of misconduct under the Anti-Harassment Policy to allow U.S. Soccer to take necessary measures to prevent that employee from engaging in further misconduct in youth soccer or in other leagues, including the removal of coaching licenses where necessary. . Although U.S. Soccer told Duffy and Levine that U.S. Soccer's outside counsel would investigate the reports, and Duffy said she received one or two updates about the investigation, there is no evidence that Duffy requested additional updates regarding the investigation or its outcome. that he had created a "sexualized team environment" at a Chicago youth club that "crossed the line to sexual relationships in multiple cases, though those relationships may . On one occasion, Holly took her upstairs and began showing her film and discussing soccer, but then he searched for and showed her pornography. 26, c) The Joint Investigative Team found no evidence that any of the 2020 player survey responses were elevated to Levine or anyone working in HR at the League. Malik stated that Paulson's text message "re-emphasize[d]" this point. That news followed a report from Meg Linehan of The Athletic on Thursday that Paul Riley, who was fired by the North Carolina Courage, had inappropriate sexual relationships with players and made. The NWSL announced that Cromwell's and Greene's employment contracts were terminated effective immediately and that they were ineligible for future employment in the NWSL unless approved by the Commissioner. Two other players said they felt that Dames gathered information about their personal and romantic relationships and used the information he learned about their personal lives as a tool for manipulation. The League has committed to communicating and consulting with the NWSLPA in player-involved investigations as part of these procedures. The next step for Alyse LaHue and Sky Blue FC: Finding a new home Paulson told the Joint Investigative Team that Riley denied the allegations against him in 2015 and never apologized, though Paulson recalled that Riley had made a comment that he had been isolated from his wife and should not have gotten drunk. Wilkinson did not follow up with Riley, staff, or players to confirm that his instruction had been followed. A former player stressed that "players married to staff members [and] coaches" is "an issue across multiple clubs." Hendrix also said that Holly both texted Simon and told her in person that she had too many clothes on and he could not see her nipples. Paulson told the Joint Investigative Team that Garcia and an attorney presented the report to Thorns leadership. Another player echoed these concerns, saying that Dames "sometimes ma[de] statements suggesting he found players attractive, but she felt these comments had "cooled off" after Dames's daughter was born. Hammond came away from the call with the understanding that Kurtz was uncomfortable with what Riley said, and he did not recall asking follow-up questions about the circumstances or any other concerns about Riley. 52, Simon recalled that Holly once brought her into a suite in the Racing Louisville stadium for a film session, even though she had tried to hold it in a public place. The investigation found that Greene had engaged in conduct that gave the perception of favoritism and fraternization. Through these interviews, the Joint Investigative Team gathered evidence from players in every active and former NWSL club. This behavior contrasted with other periods during which he would ignore Shim. In September 2021, The Athletic publicly reported on the existence of a prior, more extensive history between Riley and Farrelly, which was suggested by Shim to the Thorns investigator in 2015, but not explored in that investigation. In 2022, it was updated to prohibit discrimination and retaliation more explicitly. When he was not yelling, players felt that Dames was emotionally manipulative" and would use information he knew about them against them. She also stated that Benstiti "was always commenting on food and women and their weight. 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." Contrary to the assertion that the allegations were largely unsupported by specific examples," the report's own findings included multiple examples of the ways in which players felt Dames did not maintain professional boundaries. 85, In contrast, the NWSL's 2021 Anti-Harassment Policy prohibited certain forms of misconduct even if the conduct was not unlawful. Former NWSL President Amanda Duffy recalled hearing that Holly stepped down and believed his relationship with Pearce Rampone "may have been part of [the reason]" that he left. Also during that time, in connection with Riley's hiring by the Flash, Plush, Gulati, Flynn, and Levine corresponded by email indicating some or all of them had discussed the need for [an NWSL] policy and training." NWSL bans Paul Riley Richie Burke Christy Holly Rory Dames Gotham FC general manager Alyse LaHue was fired by the team earlier this month on July 9, the club announced Friday. The Joint Investigative Team found that the underlying culture of the NWSL created fertile ground for misconduct to go unreported. Some individuals did not know reporting incidents of misconduct to SafeSport was an option at all. The Joint Investigative Team also reached out to approximately 150 current and former players individually by email, telephone, and/or text and invited them to share their, experiences with the Joint Investigative Team. Some owners described their involvement in terms that one would not expect from owners of professional sports franchises. YOU'RE FIRED: Gotham FC sacks GM LaHue, claiming she violated NWSL Burke also discouraged player activism for racial equity. 14 The club immediately terminated the staff member for violating club policy. On July 2, 2021, OL Reign announced that Head Coach Farid Benstiti had resigned. Spirit players reported that Burke also used the full N-word in recounting past racism against a family member; asked players if he should sing the "Black version" or "white version" of "Happy Birthday"; and joked, to a player wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt and who had a black eye, that "black eyes matter." Between 2019 and 2021, Holly engaged in repeated sexual misconduct and abuse targeting Erin Simon, including touching her genitals without her consent, touching her body on other occasions without her consent, forcing her to touch his genitals without her consent, sending her unsolicited pictures of his penis, and asking her to send him sexually suggestive pictures of herself. Second, the Joint Investigative Team found no support for the Thorns's independent assertion that the 2015 investigation did not reveal any "unlawful harassment by Riley, an assertion which seemed to have emerged just after the 2015 Thorns Investigation. 2. Investigators determined that LaHue's interactions with the player constituted misconduct. The team's first game was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, which required a 6:00 a.m. wake-up call. Multiple players said that they felt they could not decline social invitations from coaches. Riley targeted Shim in other ways as well. As then-Racing Louisville player Jorian Baucom discussed publicly on Twitter, Racing Louisville publicly confused her and another Black player in a social media post, something club staff had done with respect to these two players on numerous prior occasions. For example, the report summary stated, "The players broadly described how Dames did not maintain professional boundaries, was too close to certain players, and tried to gather information to get close to others. In one instance, Clarkson suspected that players had been drinking alcohol the night before a game, so he convened the players and reprimanded them in a manner that left multiple players feeling scared and attacked. Players pinpointed instances in which it appeared that coaching staff were trying to humiliate and sabotage players, rather than help them improve. 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. In practice, players reported issues to someone at their club because they had more day-to-day interactions with club personnel, who were more akin to the players' actual employers. Flynn noted that U.S. Soccer personnel only "periodically" attended NWSL board meetings as a show of support." After Riley joined the Thorns, he targeted Thorns player Mana Shim. 1. One assistant coach recalled another coach making comments about players' weight and once telling a player at a restaurant, You can't eat this. The NWSL did not distribute player surveys in 2018 and 2019 due to bandwidth and resource constraints, and it did not distribute player surveys in 2021 in part because the NWSL received feedback from players on many topics covered in previous player surveys during CBA negotiations. USWNT and Portland Thorns' Becky Sauerbrunn speaks out after findings of systemic abuse across women's soccer in the Yates report. While the report singles out individuals and clubs for alleged misconduct or mishandling of situations, investigators chose to make recommendations that are "forward-looking, systemic in nature; rather than recommending discipline as to specific individuals or entities." The USSF Dames Investigation surfaced several concerns about Dames, but those concerns were not appropriately investigated or addressed. Prior to 2021, the NWSL did not have a formal policy prohibiting harassment, which includes sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. Lack of Transparency with NWSL Clubs About Riley's Conduct Some coaches and staff staunchly defended certain conduct as "tough coaching," demanding, or directness, even when players found the conduct emotionally abusive. 76, ever having a second discussion about the remark with the player. Riley admitted in 2015 that he deleted Shim's email without showing it to anyone in a higher position of authority at the Thorns or the NWSL. A few weeks later, on October 2, 2014, then-NWSL Executive Director Cheryl Bailey shared a version of the USWNT players' comments with the Red Stars. Adequately Staff the NWSL HR and Legal Departments to Complete Investigations into Allegations of Misconduct Thoroughly and Promptly The Management Agreement executed between the NWSL and U.S. Soccer on December 12, 2012, established U.S. Soccer as the manager of the NWSL. For example, one player reported to The Washington Post that after she resisted inappropriate comments and invitations from Dames, he benched her and forced her to practice with reserve players, rather than the first team. The report also details Clarkson's handling of an incident in Houston back in April 2021, when stadium security questioned the boyfriend of then Chicago Red Stars defender Sarah Gorden. Club staff and players also recounted that Riley went out drinking with players and would buy them drinks, which some players, without experience with other coaches or clubs, assumed must have been normal for professional soccer. Players were confused about where to report misconduct, and the absence of clear guidance about reporting channels or designated personnel to receive reports compounded the problem. Mishandling of Paul Riley's Misconduct by U.S. Soccer, the NWSL, and the Portland Thorns She spent 5 seasons as General Manager of the Chicago Red Stars of NWSL and was the first woman to lead a men's USL PRO team as GM . You should be so grateful for me. On September 30, 2021, The Athletic published the article regarding Riley, and the Courage publicly announced Riley's termination that same day. Some players explained that their own experience playing for tough or abusive coaches in youth leagues or in college colored their ability to accurately determine whether NWSL coaches' conduct constituted emotional misconduct.

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