Kurtz recalled Hammond responding, You're a professional athlete; I hope you know you're not chubby. According to Kurtz, Hammond did not ask follow-up questions about why she felt uncomfortable around Riley. Other misconduct, which this Report discusses in detail below, has not received as much, if any, public attention. The 2021 Anti-Harassment Policy prohibited harassment, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, bullying, hazing, and other forms of physical and emotional misconduct. The investigations into allegations of misconduct-and the NWSL's awareness of and involvement in such investigations have been inconsistent and have not always followed best practices. Multiple players and club staff reported that in 2017, while Holly was head coach of Sky Blue, he began dating Pearce Rampone. Neither the Flash nor the Courage were provided a copy of the report that led the Thorns to fire Riley, and each received only limited details from the Thorns, U.S. Soccer, and the NWSL about Riley's misconduct in 2015. The Thorns's counsel's unexplained conclusion was consistent with what was communicated to Shim and Riley. The NWSL then informed the club that it was not in compliance with the policy. The USSF Dames Investigation surfaced several concerns about Dames, but those concerns were not appropriately investigated or addressed. These biases are central to any evaluation of misconduct in the League.. One player recalled her club expressing "over and over" in response to players' requests for improved conditions and more resources, "This is how it is. . The History and Culture of the League and its Member Clubs Discouraged Reporting of Potential Misconduct.. Press's complaint was not the first time she had raised concerns about Dames's treatment of players to U.S. Soccer leadership and staff. Formation and Mandate of the Joint Investigative Team .. The club announced Holly's termination "for cause on August 31, 2021. A third player stated that Lines "often encourage[d] hard fouls in training, which created a dangerous and toxic team culture during training. At the second club, the relationship between the staff member and the player allowed rumors to pass between management, staff, and players. When one player opened the door, she told Harrington that she and her roommate did not want to go back out for drinks. 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. Alex Morgan calls out former NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird for her failure to address allegations against Paul Riley in this bonus footage from E60: Truth Be Told, available now on ESPN+. The Joint Investigative Team considered whether the conduct at issue violated the 2022 Anti-Harassment Policy, regardless of when the conduct occurred. 97 At the time, Plush contacted Gulati and Flynn, saying that the player survey comments from the Flash were disturbing and more worrisome than others." Soccer." Holly stepped down as coach of Sky Blue during the 2017 season, and Simon was waived by Sky Blue in 2018. All NWSL staff, players, and club staff, including coaching staff, are required to take a 90-minute SafeSport Trained Core Course, which includes training on sexual misconduct awareness and education, mandatory reporting, and physical and emotional misconduct. These failures created barriers to identifying and reporting misconduct, and bred distrust among players that reports would be handled appropriately by the League or clubs. The Yahoo! Some players recalled that a former assistant coach, while at a club-sponsored party where he was drinking heavily, made sexually explicit remarks to players. A staff member recalled that during the 2020 season, a player made overnight oats for breakfast, and Benstiti told her in front of other players, "You don't need those oats. Paulson told the Joint Investigative Team that he had recalled that Golub received a call from Lines during which they discussed the allegations against Riley, but Paulson no longer believes that call occurred because Golub and others have told him it did not. Multiple current and former players shared their belief that clubs' vetting practices have been insufficient. The NWSL should also encourage players to reach out to the NWSLPA for additional support and guidance in navigating reporting misconduct. One player referred to the environment as dehumanizing and dangerous. OL Reign This is especially important in situations where club staff with control over player transactions (coaches, general managers, etc.) Two players also reported they believed that if they complained about a problematic coach, they, and not the coach, would likely lose their jobs. 3. The League should encourage all players, including those who are not members of marginalized groups, to take an active role in identifying and calling out misconduct. 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. Both a staff member and players expressed that they believed Whisler "knew about [Dames's] emotional and verbal abuse towards players" but took no action. Levine forwarded this email to Plush in September 2015. Develop and Enforce Guidelines Addressing Appropriate Interactions Between Club Staff and Players. She was surprised then when the club's HR personnel emailed staff and the players who raised concerns to schedule a meeting for them to discuss the issues collectively. Over time, she felt that Dames was learning details of her personal life" from these players and felt the need to "distance herself" from them. Ten days before the first game she expected to start, Riley Levine said after the player survey comments were shared with the club, the club moved Lines to a front office role. E. Enhance Reporting and Investigation Procedures Already a member? A staff member at the club said that Baldwin "[got] protective and [dug] his claws in about people. The preceding sections of this Report summarized, thematically, the Joint Investigative Team's factual findings. Kurtz was not the only player to share her experiences with Courage management after the Athletic article was published. 36, findings about Riley's inappropriate behavior beyond that night. Her dismissal was based on the results of an NWSL investigation into a . Other clubs in the NWSL pursued Riley after it became known that the Thorns would not retain him and in the absence of any public information indicating that he had been terminated for cause. Former U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati observed that it was a challenge every year to get the owners to come back for another year and lose money. But it takes us all: folks at the top, every staffer, even every fan. b) One player reported that club staff living in the same housing as players led to unprofessional interactions. In a written statement to the Joint Investigative Team, Plush contended that he was "very clear" with Malik that the Courage should not retain Riley and that Malik should reach out to Paulson to understand why Riley was "no longer coaching in Portland. Plush said he made Malik aware that the Thorns had conducted an investigation into Riley, though he acknowledged he did not disclose the investigative findings or conclusions because he had been advised by counsel that this information was "confidential" and was not the League's information to share. 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. 90, with NWSL policies were unclear as to what those policies were and what club employees' obligations were. The NWSL should develop and implement an annual anti-racism and unconscious bias training that, among other things, is designed to prevent the use of racially insensitive or antisemitic language and provides tools for how to recognize and intervene against microaggressions. Neither Temares nor Smoot recalled Novo telling them concerns about Holly's treatment of players, and they emphasized that they were not in player-facing roles. After re-signing her in 2021, the club issued a public apology "to all those we have hurt, especially those within the LGBTQIA+ community, but stood by its decision, keeping Daniels on the team for the remainder of the season. In addition, the Joint Investigative Team coordinated with the USSF Investigation team where appropriate for certain interviews or other fact gathering. 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.. C. In 2020 and 2021, James Clarkson emailed club staff, including the club president, in an effort to develop a mental health program to support players. Christy Holly (Sky Blue, Assistant Coach, 2013-2015 and Head Coach, 2016-2017; Racing Louisville, Head Coach, 2020-2021) According to the USSF Dames Report, Dames admitted that he used the term "thug" to refer to a Black player but adamantly denied any racial intent. After interviewing coaches, players, and club staff, the Joint Investigative Team concluded that Cromwell and Greene retaliated against players for participating in the March Investigation in violation of the 2022 Anti-Harassment Policy. One player remembered that there was "casual drinking throughout the day while players stayed at his home, and it felt like the alcohol was a gateway" for Riley to "wiggle his way in" with players. if you don't want it, get a regular job. In one case, a member of club leadership, while following up on younger players' complaints of staff mistreatment, was told by more seasoned players that the younger players were "entitled" and did not appreciate, for example, that the club provided them meals at the training facility. She claimed that players had called themselves "bulky." Ryans three-year deal with Gotham highlights a shared commitment to making the team a Girma is everywhere she needs to be at exactly the right time. Riley declined to respond to requests to participate in this investigation. The Equalizer later reported that the investigation stemmed from a complaint filed with the league under its anti-harassment policy. The surveys also asked some open-ended questions and provided space for players to enter comments. Long pointed to the fact that "he wasn't winning" as the reason for the change in Williams's role. We felt like charity," one player explained. (Paulson has since deleted these tweets.) Following this discussion, Kurtz recalled having a telephone call with Hammond to discuss her request.