She also feared Holly would ruin her career. One player referred to Riley as verbally abusive. As became evident to some of the witnesses in 2015, the investigation appeared to be focused more on determining whether Shim might have a legal claim and on limiting the club's liability than on thorough fact-gathering. Garcia declined to speak with the Joint Investigative Team. Additionally, despite numerous requests and months of protracted negotiations, the Thorns were slow to answer questions and provide requested documents, and they withheld a number of potentially key documents by claiming they were protected by legal privilege, before ultimately conceding that many key documents were, in fact, not protected by legal privilege. We discussed them at length in his interview." Second NWSL abuse report covers Clarkson, LaHue, Pauw, Riley While Whisler told U.S. Soccer's investigator that Dames's demeanor" and "patience" had improved by 2019, in an external organizational climate review" the Red Stars conducted in the fall of 2021, players raised the same concerns about Dames that Press first raised in 2014. 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. Sky Blue had three picks in the first round of the National Women's Soccer . 5. Instead of addressing players' concerns, Whisler repeatedly downplayed them and protected Dames throughout his tenure. Expectations of Gratitude and Acquiescence 57, older, all of his friends would want to sleep over at her house-which the player understood as an insinuation about her attractiveness. Simon reported that Holly first engaged in sexual misconduct toward her in the summer of 2019. The League received information about Riley's misconduct while at the Thorns, but the League allowed him to continue to coach, first at the Flash and then at the Courage. Players and staff members alike were often unsure of whether behavior rose to the level of misconduct and, even if they were able to identify behavior as misconduct, where to report it. The new investigation alleged that LaHue had a romantic interest in an unnamed player, and published text messages between LaHue and that player. In multiple investigations by the NWSL, no written report, summary, or other record of findings was prepared, and findings were not broadly shared. Two other players said that Harrington told a player he wondered what her hair looks like when she gets out of the shower. The NWSL should provide mandatory and comprehensive annual anti-bullying trainings to address non-abusive approaches to coaching and to empower players to recognize and report misconduct. The player reported that she later told Clarkson she found the comment offensive, and he laughed again. Kaleigh Kurtz reported to the club that Riley made her uncomfortable and called her "chubby," and the club responded by telling Riley that he should speak to players about fitness," not "weight." b) While the report summary downplayed players' concerns in spite of the evidence, it credited Dames's and Whisler's explanations of events without further scrutiny. Two people used the phrase Jekyll and Hyde" to describe Holly. The league and the union issued a lengthy statement with the reports release, including a list of concrete steps that either have been taken or will be taken before the 2023 season starts. It described instances of sexual abuse, unwanted sexual advances by a general manager, emotional abuse, cronyism, racist remarks, the blurring of professional boundaries and retaliation of players who complained about their mistreatment. As with former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Q. Yates recent investigation for the U.S. Soccer Federation, this report did not hold back in its allegations. As U.S. Soccer General Counsel, Lisa Levine received Shim's September 2015 email containing allegations against Riley on the same day Shim sent the complaint, and Levine received updates about the Thorns's 2015 investigation regarding Riley from the outside counsel hired by the Thorns. In the 2015 survey, two players for the Red Stars stated that Dames was "abusive." The report indicates that others at Gotham perceived LaHue to give the unnamed player preferential treatment and that there had always been a high interest and attention by LaHue towards this player. On another occasion, after the detention of WNBA player Brittney Griner and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Clarkson approved conveying to a player's agent a contract offer from a Russian club, without acknowledging or showing sensitivity to the risks that would accompany playing in Russia. c) Necessity of Additional Vetting The NWSL should also develop standards for evaluating an applicant's fitness for the position based on the results of reputational checks. "A reopening of the 2015 investigation regarding former NWSL coach Paul Riley, including a review of the circumstances surrounding his departure from the Portland Thorns FC, and his subsequent hiring by Western New York Flash and the North Carolina Courage." The same day, on August 15, 2019, Duffy forwarded the Thorns's attorney's 2015 email, along with the Thorns's investigative report and its supporting attachments, to then-U.S. Soccer Chief Legal Officer Lydia Wahlke. Towards the end of the interview, she told Garcia that she was afraid of what Riley could do to her career, noting Riley "ha[d] contacts, help[ed] players play overseas, [and had] big ties." Moreover, even if there were support for this assertion, clubs investigating allegations of misconduct should not limit their assessment to whether "unlawful harassment" occurred. Had they done so, Riley likely would not have been hired by the Flash or, later, the Courage. Several individuals separately confirmed Benstiti was explicitly told he could not discuss weight or food with the players. Gulati said he could not recall the details regarding the Flash's consideration of Riley but told the Joint 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. The entire article is accessible only to members of The Equalizer Extra. The future of sports sponsorship? Women's sports - Sid Lee In text messages to Dames, Whisler spoke negatively of Press and expressed suspicion about players' motives for raising concerns. Players directed similar criticism to the processes that led to the hiring of Richie Burke, Farid Benstiti, Christy Holly, Vera Pauw, and Paul Riley. At that time, Levine provided Duffy a copy of the Thorns's 2015 investigative report, as well as supporting texts and emails. Although the separation agreement included a specific carve-out to the non-disparagement provision allowing the club to share information about Dames with current players, club staff, and club ownership in connection with the organizational climate review, the agreement included no such exception for the NWSL and NWSLPA Joint Investigation. On September 30, 2021, an article in The Athletic shared accounts by Shim and her former Thorns teammate Sinead Farrelly detailing not only Riley's 2015 misconduct towards Shim, but also his prior sexual misconduct-which the 2015 Thorns Investigation had not uncovered-towards Farrelly. Multiple Spirit players expressed that they felt it was futile to report incidents to ownership or the club's general manager, as it was known that they were all just friends anyways, [and] there was no separation." The Management Agreement explained that U.S. Soccer would "provide NWSL with all management, governance, operational, administrative, and advisory services. U.S. Soccer remained the manager of the NWSL until December 31, 2020. The NWSL and NWSLPA authorized the Report's release, in its entirety, to the NWSL community and the public. The NWSL should establish and enforce a policy that provides clear guidance to clubs on their use of non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements in circumstances involving alleged or substantiated misconduct under the Anti-Harassment Policy. Plush also said he spoke to Lines and Alex Sahlen in January 2016, encouraging them to look elsewhere for a new coach." Players also reported club staff inappropriately making comments about players' appearance and personal lives. One club's player representatives expressed frustration that those investing in One player reported that former OL Reign Head Coach Farid Benstiti announced to players, "If I see you eat snacks, I will kill you." One club, in hiring a head coach, spoke to management at two of the coach's former clubs, individuals at the League and U.S. Soccer, players at one of the coach's former clubs, player agents, and a non-NWSL-affiliated member of the women's soccer community. 47, The stated purpose of the USSF Dames Investigation was "to understand the experience of the players and provide U.S. Soccer legal advice with respect to whether the alleged misconduct by Dames, to the extent that it occurred, is acceptable from the head coach of a National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team from the perspective of U.S. This misconduct included sexual misconduct, inappropriate relationships with players, the blurring of professional boundaries, racially insensitive remarks, inappropriate statements about players' weight and body types and other forms of emotional misconduct, and retaliation for reporting misconduct. U.S. Soccer's failure to exercise its power as manager in this regard contributed to widespread confusion across the League, clubs, and players, as to which entity was tasked with preventing and addressing misconduct. Some of the club policies stated that managers who receive complaints should elevate those complaints to the club HR department, but they mentioned nothing of the requirement that the NWSL HR Office be notified. The report stated that "Dames and Whisler offered credible explanations" for Dames's behavior in one incident. Players Lacked Clear Guidance Regarding What Constituted Misconduct In 2022, it was updated to prohibit discrimination and retaliation more explicitly. The majority of NWSL coaches have been men. The Joint Investigative Team requested documents from every club through the appropriate club official or club counsel. Examples of prohibited verbal conduct include epithets; derogatory comments or slurs; negative stereotyping; and jokes, kidding, or teasing about another person's protected status. D. We interview the founders, investors, technologists, and early stage employees who are part of today's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Whisler signed this non-disparagement clause notwithstanding the commissioning of the NWSL and NWSLPA Joint Investigation the month prior by the NWSL Board of Governors, of which Whisler was a member at the time. The two parties ultimately decided that a joint investigation made the most sense, with Covington taking the lead under the direction of an oversight committee. 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. Riley declined to respond to requests to participate in this investigation. When LaHues termination was announced in June 2021, an NWSL spokesperson put out a statement via Meg Linehan on Twitter stating: Following a complaint, the league conducted an investigation and shared the findings of that investigation with Gotham FC. Malik reported that he told Cone that there were no concerns with Riley on the Courage, but that Malik understood there had been issues involving Riley in the past, and he and Cone discussed Riley drinking alcohol with players in 2015. Even after repeated requests and lengthy negotiations with the separate law firm U.S. Soccer retained to respond to the Joint Investigative Team's requests, U.S. Soccer did not meaningfully respond to those requests until shortly before, and again after, the USSF Report was released. Furthermore, he instructed Benstiti to bring any dietary or weight-related concerns to another staff member, who could have conversations about diet and fitness with players. The Joint Investigative Team found that there were multiple process failures during the USSF Dames Investigation, which left notable gaps in the fact-finding. One former player differentiated between raised voices in different locations: the player opined, "If you're working in an office cubicle, no one will scream at you for your terrible touch, but that might be needed on the field." To be eligible for future employment in the NWSL, Cromwell and Greene must participate in mandatory training regarding retaliation, discrimination, harassment, and bullying, and must participate in mandatory executive coaching. 121, 6. The Thorns initiated a week-long investigation (the "2015 Thorns Investigation") conducted by its HR director, who found that some of Shim's allegations were undisputed and who summarized findings against Riley in a final investigative report. Malik told the Joint Investigative Team that he communicated with Plush at the NWSL, who suggested Malik speak with Paulson about hiring Riley, and with Gulati at U.S. Soccer, who told Malik to reach out to Riley's previous employers. Riley asked Shim out to dinner, though she made excuses to avoid accepting. That initial policy was created with a primary focus of maintaining a safe environment, free of harassment. The calendar crisis explained. . On one occasion, Dames made a derogatory comment to a player who was a mother, saying something like, "What makes you think you're going to be a good mother if you can't communicate?" Duffy was also aware there was an ongoing investigation at the Red Stars, but the Joint Investigative Team found no evidence the NWSL requested updates regarding the investigation or requested the final investigative report, and Levine acknowledged that she interpreted the lack of update from Wahlke as a lack of material negative findings concerning Dames. The Business Case For Women's Sports: Ep.#11 The Rise of NJ/NY Gotham Reis acknowledged encouraging players to speak with investigators, but she denied telling them what to say. 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. Baird told ESPN that reading the article was the first she ever heard of accusations of sexual abuse against Riley. 6. North Carolina Courage One player said, After games, you could find [Riley] at the bar with players buying drinks, which she felt crossed "a propriety line." While the Joint Investigative Team considered the findings of the USSF Report, and identified lines of inquiry that merited further investigation, the objective of this Report is to summarize the work of the Joint Investigative Team, rather than to comment on, or respond to, the USSF Report. Hendrix also heard from a teammate that Holly had been speaking negatively of her to club staff. Some individuals did not know reporting incidents of misconduct to SafeSport was an option at all. After WPS collapsed in 2012, U.S. Soccer, the official governing body of soccer in the United States, convened representatives from various semi-professional leagues to discuss the future of women's professional soccer in the United States. Require Clubs to Revise Their Anti-Harassment Policies to Be Consistent with the NWSL Anti-Harassment Policy Cromwell's, Greene's, and Reis's conduct could discourage players and staff from reporting misconduct in the future, and their conduct, therefore, directly contradicted the 2022 Anti-Harassment Policy, which aims to detect and prevent misconduct, protect players and others from retaliation for engaging in Protected Activity, and create a safe working environment for players. At the start of the 2022 season, the NWSL consisted of 12 teams: Angel City FC, the Red Stars, the Dash, Kansas City Current, Gotham, the Courage, OL Reign, the Pride, the Thorns, Racing Louisville, San Diego Wave FC, and the Spirit. As a result, multiple players and staff members credibly expressed fear of severe consequences for their participation in the March Investigation and the subsequent retaliation investigation if they spoke negatively about the coaching staff, or if they were not bought in. You had no job security, a player explained. Farrelly felt coerced into having sexual intercourse with Riley based on the dynamic between them and his control over her soccer career. However, the Joint Investigative Team found no evidence that the letters were written or sent. During the limbo period, the National Womens Soccer League media relations department was mildly more helpful, finally acknowledging the situation by saying they were not going to comment on a club matter. The lead investigator told the Joint Investigative Team that she believed Dames's "excessive yelling, unpredictable behavior, and singling out players for constant criticism . For example, one former player explained, If I don't cover my man and they score, that might warrant screaming." Based on the findings, the Thorns terminated Riley. [we] use the [NWSLPA] as a voice or shield to speak to the executives at the club. December 14, 2022 63, 6. Lydia Wahlke (U.S. Soccer, Chief Legal Officer, 2017-2020) 43, Players also told U.S. Soccer's investigator that Dames used his power as head coach to exercise control over them. Many of the coaches and individuals who engaged in misconduct and who are discussed in this Report were not appropriately vetted by their clubs., Nor are the leagues current protocols sufficient, the report says: Significant gaps exist in the NWSLs revised background check requirements., READ MORE: Joanna Lohman was fooled by Paul Riley in Philadelphia, where he allegedly coerced her teammates. Among the suggested actions is involving players in hiring processes more formally and establishing information sharing among clubs.
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