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The League should be transparent with players about progress and should provide players with a formal platform where they can share ongoing concerns with management and the Board of Governors. NEWARK, NJ - After years of bad press, Phil Murphy's Sky Blue soccer team was. Christy Holly (Sky Blue, Assistant Coach, 2013-2015 and Head Coach, 2016-2017; Racing Louisville, Head Coach, 2020-2021) Since the training in 2019, the NWSL has not offered a League-wide antiharassment training. When asked whether he ever referred to players as "morons," Burke told the Joint Investigative Team he could not recall ever calling a player a "moron" directly, but that he may have said to players, "Don't be a moron." The Thorns's counsel's unexplained conclusion was consistent with what was communicated to Shim and Riley. The Oversight Committee pledged to ensure that the investigation was independent, thorough, and objective. Days later, the assistant coaches told her that they had never complained about her attitude. I think most people that get an MBA then try to go on and get a nice . 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. Kurtz also reported in this meeting that Riley made "sexual comments to her and criticized her weight, including by calling her "chubby." Simon felt like she owed him, because she believed he played a role in getting her a spot at the camp. The same day, U.S. Soccer announced that it was launching an independent investigation into reports of abusive behavior and sexual misconduct in women's professional soccer, to be conducted by former Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates of King & Spalding LLP (the USSF Investigation"). Consider Developing a Plan to Conduct Exit Interviews of Departing Players LaHue participated in an initial interview, but then cancelled a follow-up interview. An owner of a club emphasized that one of the problems with having a coach and a general manager who are the same person" was that it meant "one less channel of communication that you have" to report concerns. Disseminate Annual Reports to Players Regarding the Effectiveness of the NWSL's Reporting Channels and Investigation Processes 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 . The NWSL completed an independent investigation, and it announced that based on witness interviews and a review of video footage, no disciplinary action would be taken against the club. 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. "The continuation of ongoing investigations initiated under the NWSL's current antiharassment policy, and the recommendation of sanctions where appropriate." The player told Predmore she understood. 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. 88, U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro characterized U.S. Soccer's relationship with the League as a "regulator and sanctioning body." Multiple players described coaches engaging in behavior that was perceived to be physically threatening to players, such as chasing players down to scream at them, screaming in 6. According to one player, this staff member began dating the player mid-season. After the meeting, one of the players said she felt like things were getting better. These failings enabled Riley to continue coaching players in the NWSL for years after his sexual misconduct was discovered. These measures may help increase diversity in the NWSL coaching ranks. The Joint Investigative Team conducted a review to assess the allegations against Riley and to analyze the 2015 Thorns Investigation and the response by the Thorns, NWSL, U.S. Soccer, and other stakeholders. Clarkson denied making this comment, but witnesses corroborated that Clarkson was visibly upset and frustrated at the player, and that the player was upset. b) Staff Living in Player Apartment Complexes The NWSL should consider adopting Mental Health First Aid training. By allowing Riley to continue coaching in the NWSL, the League conveyed its continuing implicit approval of him, despite the information Plush received and the concerns that he expressed to others. The Joint Investigative Team looked to a variety of sources, including the League's 2022 Anti-Harassment Policy and professional coaching standards, when making these assessments. The 2022 Anti-Harassment Policy clarifies that it applies to all "NWSL Personnel," which includes "certain individuals and entities not employed by NWSL," including team owners, team personnel, and team medical staff. Five months later, another NWSL club, the Western New York Flash, hired Riley as head coach. Consistent with the 2022 Anti-Harassment Policy, the NWSL should require League and club staff to preserve documents relating to allegations and investigations of misconduct for at least seven years. Burke also used racial slurs, made racially insensitive and offensive jokes, and undermined and discouraged activism on issues of race. Rather, the allegations and findings against Riley were frequently downplayed, including by discussing only certain aspects of certain of the allegations against Riley and, as noted, by using the determination of no unlawful harassment to summarize the investigative findings. The NWSL began its own investigation into the player's complaint, but stopped after two days at the direction of U.S. Soccer. Whether the conduct was severe or repetitive and whether it was intentional are factors that may influence this analysis. The player said she and the others felt like "[they were] never going to play again." 9. According to Kurtz, Riley denied her request, telling her the club need[ed]" her. Just get out there and fucking play." The retreat involved drinking, with alcohol provided by Riley, and some players recalled that they felt the retreat was mandatory and that they could not leave. That January, the Courage made Riley their first head coach. The Joint Investigative Team then investigated those reports or, in limited instances, referred the reports to an appropriate entity, including U.S. Soccer, the League, and individual clubs, for investigation. 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. She said that when clubs receive a player complaint, they must ask the League what to do [and] where to tell them to go," and added that it was "really unclear what do you do locally versus what goes straight to the League. The HR director at one club explained that she had to reach out to the League for guidance on HR matters because none was provided, and she often assumed that the League, not the club, would handle potential misconduct reported by players. Players at the Dash told the Joint Investigative Team that they were unsure where to report misconduct by James Clarkson because they believed that he and club President John Walker were "best friends." At some clubs, the players and club staff reported that they live in the same clubprovided housing during the season. According to Malik, Paulson told him in 2019 that the Thorns did not terminate Riley, but that Riley's contract was not renewed. manipulate them."" The new report claimed it studied all reports of inappropriate conduct toward players in the league since its launch in 2012, reviewing over 200,000 documents and conducting over 200 interviews. ii Sky Blue had three picks in the first round of the National Women's Soccer . 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. Neither the club nor U.S. Soccer followed up on indications from the investigation that suggested Riley may have had a more extensive relationship with Farrelly. Shim declined, stating she needed to take care of a sick teammate. The player reported that when her teammate had approached the owner about mistreatment by Burke, Baldwin "did nothing about it." Temares did not recall Novo coming to him with this question and rather remembered being surprised because he heard about Holly's departure after the fact. Both Gulati and Flynn said they never reviewed the Thorns's 2015 investigative report prior to its October 2022 public disclosure by U.S. Soccer. Predmore notified the players that Benstiti would be removed from his role as head coach. Conduct Reference Checks for All Prospective Owners, Coaches, and other Club Staff Who May Interact With Players One of these players said that the dual head coachgeneral manager role was "a nightmare." Since U.S. Soccer did not adequately disseminate the findings to the NWSL, the NWSL did not take any disciplinary or corrective action toward Dames. 124, VII. Players on NWSL clubs are NWSL employees, while coaches and other team personnel are club employees. The NWSLPA also announced that it would conduct its own independent investigation into workplace misconduct within the League. In December 2013, Whisler emailed Cheryl Bailey that he had "sat with [a player] and addressed" her concerns about Dames; he then speculated, "Whatever the [player's] story is now it is window dressing likely because she wants more money." A player described to the Joint Investigative Team concerns she developed regarding former Gotham General Manager Alyse LaHue's interactions with her. 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. . The Joint Investigative Team also committed, with the authorization of the NWSL and the NWSLPA, to protect the confidentiality of players who reported inappropriate conduct they experienced or witnessed to the extent permitted by law. Two players described Dames's mood shifts as "a cycle of abuse." As the season wore on, Riley became more demanding of Shim, and she struggled to say "no" to Riley's advances without angering him and risking retribution. 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. As one staff member explained, there had always been a high interest and attention in this player by LaHue., The new investigation by the league and union said LaHue participated in an initial interview with the Joint Investigative Team but canceled a second scheduled interview and declined the Joint Investigative Teams repeated requests to reschedule., This was accompanied, investigators further said, by an email from LaHues lawyer calling the allegations false claims., READ MORE: U.S. Soccer promises action after Yates investigation details abuse and sexual coercion in NWSL. Wilkinson and Paulson told the Joint Investigative Team that they were not aware of Shim's 2021 email to Baird. And thorough vetting, including a reputational check, is time-intensive and expensive. In October 2019, Horan also appeared in a Players' Tribune podcast episode, titled Lindsey Horan Opens Up About Body Shaming at PSG," in which Horan said playing at PSG was the "lowest" part of her career in part because the coach was "brutal" and was not playing her because of "how [she] looked." These fears were not unfounded. 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. Craig Harrington, the former Utah Royals F.C. When asked whether she could have compelled Chicago Red Stars owner Arnim Whisler to obey a League instruction not to speak with players in relation to an investigation, former U.S. Soccer and NWSL General Counsel Lisa Levine stated that the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors-of which Whisler was a member at the time-had shown that it was not inclined to act to discipline clubs. 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. Alyse LaHue shares her excitement about the future of the NWSL at the same time she is not shy to reflect on the need of having more women in the game.Alyse . During this conversation, he asked Holly, "How would you like to handle that?" Farrelly asked what steps the NWSL intended to take in connection with inappropriate conduct that was initially reported" and offered to make herself available for an interview. Both Gulati and U.S. Soccer CEO Dan Flynn received the NWSL player survey results from 2014, which included information about potential misconduct by both Riley and Dames. Chicago Red Stars On September 15, 2014, legal counsel for the USWNTPA emailed Gulati a memorandum of that meeting, which included a summary of Press's comments that Dames "created a hostile work environment." Require Separate Individuals to Hold Key Club Leadership Roles Consider Creating an Alternative Complaint Resolution Program In addition to the lack of information at Sky Blue, NWSL personnel did not have a clear understanding of why Holly left Sky Blue. Baird, again using language drafted by Levine, responded that the initial complaint in 2015 had been investigated to conclusion." 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. One player described Holly screaming at a player during a game, only to bring her into a meeting after the game in which he cried and told her that she was his favorite player. 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. g) Consequences of Inaction Second, the 2022 Anti-Harassment Policy requires each club to designate two individuals to receive reports of potential violations of the 2022 Anti-Harassment Policy, at least one of whom must be an individual other than the Board of Governors representative and the head coach of the club. Johnson said Flynn told him an allegation was made that Riley asked "a player to kiss another female," and that Riley had denied this occurred. Cone said she informed others at U.S. Soccer about this call, and she called Malik to ensure Courage players were safe. She recalled hearing Riley make negative "comments about players who [had] made the national team and then stopped doing favors for him. 113 7. the Joint Investigative Team sent each club a document collection questionnaire to gather information about its organization, structure, and mechanisms for reporting complaints. In the player survey, Thorns players anonymously commented that Riley "ripped/yelled at players in a hurtful, non-productive way," was "verbally abussive [sic]," and would "call [players] dumb, stupid, slow, idiotic, retarded, we have no balls, we will never be better than the average 16 year old boy, worthless." 108, 1. "We've seen other teams continue to up their professional standards, and Sky Blue has to follow suit," LaHue said. The report, however, did not conclude that Dames's conduct "amounted to verbal and emotional abuse" or that his behavior would constitute a violation of the SafeSport Code of Conduct, if the Code applied. The NWSL should require clubs to provide separate housing accommodations to establish clearer boundaries between players and club staff. 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. Club and U.S. Soccer personnel repeated the Thorns's characterization of Riley's conduct as poor judgment for years. She also did not share the findings or conclusion from the investigation with players. On August 11, 2021, The Washington Post reported that Spirit Head Coach Richie Burke had verbally and emotionally abused players. A few days later, Plush emailed Gulati, Flynn, and Levine and recounted a "long conversation" with Lines. To the extent that Racing Louisville has asserted that the severance agreement was intended to address Simon's confidentiality concerns, the non-disparagement provision was far more limiting on the club than what was necessary to protect her confidentiality. Outreach and Coordination Efforts 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. Riley made sexual comments towards Kurtz, including giving her detailed accounts of his sex life on a number of occasions in what appeared to be an attempt to invite her to do the same in return; that conduct waned only when Kurtz was in a serious relationship. Additionally, Paulson told the Joint Investigative Team that Wahlke contacted him at that time regarding Riley, and the two discussed the Thorns's 2015 investigation. The Thorns did not provide the Flash with a copy of the investigative report. Burke also engaged in multiple instances of conduct that included stereotyping and jokes about Jewish people. Furthermore, in at least one instance, players received potentially misleading information about the outcome of an investigation. 96, player commenting in the 2020 player survey that Burke used demeaning language. In certain instances, these coaches justified their behavior by relying on the rationale that the behavior was "cultural" or by doubling down on claims that their behavior was oriented around fitness. The NWSL should enforce appropriate discipline against NWSL and club staff and players who do not timely As one player described, Riley made it seem like "he had a direct line" to the USWNT head coach, and so as a player "you were willing to do everything he said to get you there." One player recalled a specific comment Dames made about "her attractiveness." In early 2022, the NWSLPA and the League announced that they had signed their first collective bargaining agreement. The 2022 Anti-Harassment Policy requires clubs to promptly report all reports of misconduct to the League. coach, and Alyse LaHue, the former general manager of Gotham F.C., each received two-year suspensions from the league.