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." Dames told the investigator this was not retaliatory, though Dames said he understood why the player felt retaliated against. Dames declined requests to be interviewed in this investigation. An investigation commissioned by the National Women's Soccer League and its players union found "widespread misconduct" directed at players dating back to the beginnings nearly a decade ago of the Christy Holly engaged in sexual misconduct and made inappropriate sexual comments to players. Co-Founder of Gonzo Soccer: Girls Soccer & Leadership Academy for under-served girls, a 501 (c)3 organization in the U.S., Mexico, and Colombia. Ms. LaHue has sat for approximately seventeen (17) hours of interviews and continually requested access to materials related to her case.. The Report concludes with systemic recommendations for the NWSL and its member clubs. 7. If misconduct under the Anti-Harassment Policy is revealed as part of the Alternative Complaint Resolution program process, the misconduct should be reported promptly to the NWSL HR Office and/or the NWSL General Counsel. The prospective owner asked how "pervasive" the problem was and wrote that he need[ed] to know that NWSL is protecting these girls and is vigilant about preventing such abuses of power in the future." For example, in June 2021, a group of players reached out to O'Connor and asked if they could speak with him. The reasons for Alyse LaHue's termination as NJ/NY Gotham FC general manager in July 2021 are also now clear following 1 years of silence from the club on the issue. Black Women's Player Collective representatives told the Joint Investigative Team that they experienced racial microaggressions on their teams. According to Whisler, when he read the Washington Post article the next day describing Dames's pattern of abuse and harassment, it became clear that Dames could not take on such a new role with the club. Also no, it's not a double standard. They also found former Utah Royals head coach Craig Harrington to lack credibility while offering defenses of his actions, which ranged from drinking with players (including once at a strip club while an assistant coach in Chicago), attempting to enter a player's hotel room and inappropriate comments of a sexual nature. 124, VII. The Joint Investigative Team promptly conducted a thorough investigation and, based on the evidence, found that Wilkinson did not engage in wrongdoing or violate the Anti-Harassment Policy. For example, one player recalled reaching out to an owner regarding a housing stipend that clubs could provide to players. 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. Since 2019, some clubs have offered their own anti-harassment trainings, but those trainings have not been approved by the NWSL, and one club's HR staff reported that the NWSL had not been helpful in developing trainings. As for the players, there is a hope that with this report finally coming out, all eyes can turn toward the future of the league. [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. Sponsorship budgets reach farther than ever While the NWSL has recently improved its hiring practices and background check processes, background and reputational checks should be enhanced, and the NWSL should establish formal procedures to facilitate information-sharing among clubs. 2. 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. The revised policy should state that waiving players, trading players, or buying out players' contracts could be retaliatory and a violation of the policy if a motivating factor for the player transaction is the player's engagement in a Protected Activity. Club staff should be advised to elevate to the NWSL not only formal complaints and reports of misconduct they receive, but also any observed misconduct or alleged misconduct of which they otherwise become aware. The report made clear that certain facts were not disputed. This sparked discussions and concern by individuals at the NWSL, U.S. Soccer, and the Thorns about Riley's prior sexual misconduct, evincing their recognition that the prior findings against Riley were cause for concern in assessing his suitability to coach players. North Carolina Courage defender Kaleigh Kurtz previously spoke publicly about Riley's body-shaming of her, and how the disgraced coach told her she had to lose 14 pounds in 10 days if she expected to start the next game. Such a requirement would mandate additional research into the candidate, including interviews with references, former players at youth, professional, and other levels, and other contacts. 36, findings about Riley's inappropriate behavior beyond that night. The statement called on the NWSL to (i) open an independent investigation into the issues described by The Athletic; (ii) suspend any staff accused of violating the anti-harassment policy; and (iii) disclose how Riley was hired within the NWSL after leaving another club following an investigation into his misconduct. Each individual was invited to speak with the Joint Investigative Team. She heard from another player that it felt like Riley was really waiting until [players] were either belligerent or a little intoxicated." The injured player recalled that Clarkson angrily asked her, How the fuck are you so unprofessional?" 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. Multiple clubs expected the League to take a more active role in addressing misconduct. 4. Even as individuals at U.S. Soccer came to the conclusion that Riley's conduct made him unsuitable to be a national team coach, no one took any action to remove him from coaching NWSL players. The location of Shim's and Farrelly's interviews-the Thorns's stadium-was not an appropriate setting for such a sensitive conversation and contributed to Shim feeling uncomfortable and concerned that staff would see her being interviewed. When the player was emotional after the game, Burke reportedly continued to yell at her and called her "selfish." Coaches also should not be in a direct supervisory position over club medical staff and should not be in a position to unilaterally terminate or otherwise impose disciplinary action on medical staff without consulting with the managers of the club. Players reported that Pauw's comments affected a teammate struggling with an eating disorder. "We've grown out of a college environment at this point. they were always going to take [Wilkinson's] recommendation over mine." Sports and The New York Times, published articles detailing her experience at PSG. She also feared Holly would ruin her career. At more than one club, one individual served as both head coach and general manager. For example, one former player explained, If I don't cover my man and they score, that might warrant screaming." Dames was not the only coach who resorted to critiques of players' parental status: a player described Riley "berating [one player]" through an entire game and blaming the loss on her infant son." The Thorns's 2015 report clearly established certain of Shim's uncontested allegations, including that Riley made alcohol available to Shim and Farrelly at his apartment and danced with Shim, and that the players kissed at Riley's apartment that night (something Shim and another player corroborated was done to avoid the suicide mile); that Riley had one-on-one film sessions at his apartment with Shim and had dinner alone with Shim; that Riley sent Shim a series of inappropriate text messages; and that Riley deleted an email from Shim to Riley informing him that his conduct was inappropriate without telling his superiors about Shim's email. In addition to reports of misconduct involving Paul Riley, Rory Dames, and Christy Holly, described in detail below, the Joint Investigative Team identified many instances of coaches, staff, club leadership, and other individuals in positions of power engaging in misconduct directed at players. The misconduct of Riley, Dames, and Holly has been a focus of public reporting regarding the treatment of players in the League. The NWSL began planning for a 2021 anti-harassment training, but the training did not happen before the crises that emerged in the fall of 2021. Yet, in responding to document requests from the Joint Investigative Team, the Thorns asserted the report was protected by attorney-client privilege and claimed they had shared it with U.S. Soccer in 2015 pursuant to a common interest agreement under which neither the NWSL nor U.S. Soccer would be permitted to share the report. b) The player recalled that Pauw "knocked on [her] door at night and invited herself in just to check how [her] apartment setup was." Simon recalled being scared and noted that Holly lived in her apartment building, so she wanted to know how the club could keep her safe and make sure Holly did not come to her apartment after he was fired. Two overlapping trends factor into why there are two major reports on systemic abuse in the NWSL: a lack of trust in reporting systems, and a lack of accountability among those in positions of power. Incorporate Anti-Retaliation Training Into Other Mandatory Trainings Anti-retaliation training should define retaliation and emphasize that retaliation can take many forms-not just termination of employment or formal discipline. 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. Embrace Player Insight as Part of the Hiring and Vetting Processes 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. The NWSL should consider preparing an annual report regarding the operation of the Anti-Harassment Policy, including aggregated data regarding reports to the League of potential violations of the Anti-Harassment Policy, and the outcomes and resolutions of those reports. 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. Inadequate individual and institutional responses to this misconduct can further normalize and perpetuate the underlying bias, and dissuade reporting. Misconduct against players has occurred at the vast majority of NWSL clubs at various times, from the earliest years of the League to the present. Players explained that this dynamic can be exacerbated for bench players or newer players who might not feel empowered to speak up, or who might feel that their position on the team is not sufficiently secure. However, the club did not share enough information about the reason for Holly's termination, leaving both players and the public uncertain about why he was fired. 55, making a statement to the reporter. Former NWSL Executive Director Cheryl Bailey said that in the League's early years, there was an expectation that clubs would each develop their own HR capability. As one player explained, an emotionally or verbally abusive coach would "yell to hurt [players'] feelings, not make them better." A witness recalled that when introducing a staff member to the front office, a general manager announced that the staff member was "engaged to one of [the] players." Hendrix recalled Holly would get mad if Simon did not respond to his messages. These recommendations are organized thematically and not in order of priority. However, its high operating costs and failure to attract corporate sponsors soon began to cause financial strain. In the fall of 2022, Kurtz decided to share Riley's misconduct with the Joint Investigative Team. One player recalled that O'Connor informed players that Holly had been terminated due to an inappropriate relationship" with a player. Riley and Dames refused to speak to the joint investigation team or Yates' team, while Pauw "appeared, but refused to cooperate" and ultimately issued a written statement. For instance, Garcia was told of Riley's close relationship with Farrelly and his negative, potentially homophobic commentary about Farrelly's relationship with another player on the team. Consistent with the CBA, the NWSL should require coaches to adhere to medical staff's decisions for a player to train, play, or return to play. Riley grew bolder in making sexual advances over time, and Farrelly reported to The Athletic and to the Joint Investigative Team that they had sexual intercourse after Riley went out drinking with the team following a loss at an away game. to discount the impact of his behaviors." 18.2k members in the NWSL community. If not, you can sign up below. The club immediately terminated the staff member for violating club policy. At some clubs, the players and club staff reported that they live in the same clubprovided housing during the season. When Racing Louisville learned of Holly's sexual misconduct toward Erin Simon, the club acted quickly, firing him within hours of speaking to Simon, and in spite of a request from the NWSL that they pause to let the League investigate. Harrington responded that he reviewed his phone records, but he could not verify how the player contacted him. Investigative Methodology. As an example of this favoritism, another player The Joint Investigative Team also took into account whether conduct complied with professional coaching standards. In 2020, the NWSL investigated Dell Loy Hansen, then-owner of the Royals, for making racially offensive comments. NWSL investigation finds 'ongoing misconduct,' details culture of abuse, Red Stars owner Whisler selling stake in club, NWSL year in review: Extreme parity, emerging USWNT stars, new CBA, Yates report, more, NWSL abuse allegations as they happened: Portland Thorns, Washington Spirit timelines, day by day, Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more (U.S.). Levine's explanation for her response to these emails was that she was focused on language in the emails regarding how the NWSL would respond to Shim's initial 2015 complaint-despite indicia in the emails that Shim and Farrelly were dissatisfied with the NWSL's response to Shim's 2015 complaint and despite Farrelly having provided additional pertinent information in her email. Further, he told the investigator that Dames "ha[d] a hard side, that he had heard players describe Dames "as a bully," and that he had "no doubt" Dames would "ride a player during practice." Inattentiveness, neglect, and concealment allow misconduct to fester.. During that time, Lines spoke with Wilkinson, Lines's former teammate on the Portland Timbers and the New Zealand national team, regarding Riley and his suitability for the head coach role. A player who said that she liked Dames acknowledged that he would not make the blunt crazy comments" to her that he made to others. Although Clarkson advocated for the development of a mental health program at the Dash, he also demonstrated insensitivity towards players' mental health in his interactions with them. Plush's email summarized Lines's report of a conversation with Wilkinson, in which Wilkinson brought up what he referred to as the human resource issue, said Wilkinson felt Riley "was put in a bad position by the player," and said Wilkinson would hire [Riley] in a heartbeat. According to Plush's email, Lines had spoken with Riley, who told Lines, "I shouldn't have put myself in that situation." For example, in one incident, Clarkson likened an injured player's stride to that of a "lame horse," and laughed when she jokingly responded, "So should I shoot myself?" Indeed, after Riley was fired on September 30, 2021, Kurtz disclosed additional misconduct by Riley, and another player told the club that Riley had been verbally abusive and created a "culture of fear" in which players could not express opinions, and that other coaches had allowed Riley to engage in this behavior. Levine told the Joint Investigative Team that from what she could recall, Lines was removed "directly in response" to the survey results. Shim contacted Riley by email that July, telling him that his conduct was inappropriate and made her uncomfortable. Even retired players expressed fears that former coaches could affect their careers. 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. Insufficient Understanding of the Respective Roles of U.S. Soccer, the League, and Clubs in Investigating Misconduct The policy provided that "while harassing conduct is generally unlawful only if it affects tangible job benefits and/or is sufficiently severe or pervasive so as to interfere unreasonably with work performance and creates an abusive or hostile work environment, this policy prohibits harassing conduct regardless of whether it rises to the level of a legal violation."

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