The Thorns did not provide the Flash with a copy of the investigative report. This reduces the risk that the concentration of power in a single individual will chill reporting of misconduct. She did not recall any concerns about Williams's treatment of players being raised at the August 2021 meeting, instead recalling that players shared concerns about the level of training and the team's poor performance. All of the interviews, except the interviews of Shim and Farrelly, occurred by phone. 118, coaches and staff to better understand their interactions with players. 3. Burke screamed and cursed at players, even when those players were crying and visibly emotional. According to the course description, this course trains medical staff on how to "[r]ecognize types and signs of abuse and misconduct, [c]reate safer, abusepreventative spaces and policies for training and treatment, [r]espond to abuse and disclosures and recognize barriers to reporting, [i]ncorporate a trauma-informed approach into [their] practice," "[s]afely reintegrate athletes who have been harmed back into sport," and "[c]reate and promote a culture that prioritizes athlete safety." Interviewees expressed that Clarkson failed to recognize when his ineffective communication was detrimental to players' emotional wellbeing, though many players also stated that Clarkson was tough but fair. MBA with a focus on. . b) Failures of Background Checks Four days after that, Equalizer Soccer reported the anti-harassment detail. Many of the coaches and individuals who engaged in misconduct and who are discussed in this Report were not appropriately vetted by their clubs. And thorough vetting, including a reputational check, is time-intensive and expensive. This mandatory anti-harassment training should be interactive and provide opportunities for participants to ask questions. One player also observed that her club was silent on issues of racism by not recognizing Juneteenth or doing work to support the Black community, which she said was in contrast to her former club where there were frequent discussions regarding anti-racism and her coach thought "about the broader world and how that could affect your performance." Sunil Gulati (U.S. Soccer, President, 2006-2018) and Dan Flynn (U.S. Soccer, CEO and Secretary General, 2000-2019) c) The Joint Investigative Team found, for example, that club 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. In multiple instances, coaches and staff accused of misconduct were able to find employment at other clubs despite losing their previous employment due to misconduct. If the NWSL receives a complaint or report of alleged misconduct regarding club staff, it should consider requiring that club to report any planned player transactions or staff terminations to the NWSL for the remainder of the current season and the following off-season. Require Separate Individuals to Hold Key Club Leadership Roles This included withholding documents and other information, for the better part of a year, related to an investigation U.S. Soccer conducted into reports of misconduct by Rory Dames. Riley also held club events for players at his Long Island home, where players reported that they drank with him during their stay. Reis was placed on unpaid administrative leave and is required to participate in mandatory training regarding retaliation, discrimination, harassment and bullying, and must participate in mandatory executive coaching. 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. In that interview, Farrelly did not discuss, and Garcia did not ask, about Riley's other misconduct towards her, which was not uncovered until later. 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. Is that never appropriate?" Two players said they sought therapy. Farrelly described this as a build-up with Riley. The League should require that any non-disclosure or non-disparagement provisions allow the League and clubs to share information consistent with disclosure requirements set forth in the AntiHarassment Policy and any other requirements that may be implemented to promote transparency and player safety. Before the season, Holly invited Simon to his home on two occasions to watch film, telling her that Pearce Rampone would be there. Unprofessional Communications The agreement also provided that Racing Louisville would take over the future payment obligations of Holly's apartment lease if Holly vacated the apartment. Whisler informed Dames that waiving the player "the day after she raised an issue (if it was her)" would increase the risk of a claim of retaliation, and Dames responded, "Of course it was her . One owner similarly expressed confusion over the extent to which clubs could perform HR functions for players, given that clubs are "not [players'] employers." Farrelly noted in her email that only a few months prior, Wilkinson had asked her to represent the Thorns on an international trip, an invitation that she believed he would only extend to players with a future on the Thorns. Hendrix, who knew about the abuse, also stated she and Simon did not report to the club's HR, because they did not realize that's the person you would talk to about sexual abuse," and they did not know the HR employee well enough to feel comfortable talking to her about the abuse. Not resign."" A staff member for another club noted that "the whole team" lived in the same apartment building with some coaching staff. With regards to the League's legal and HR functions, from 2012-2017, then-U.S. Soccer General Counsel Levine handled the NWSL's legal and HR responsibilities in the absence of an NWSL general counsel. However, players expressed reluctance about bringing complaints about coaching staff to management due to close relationships between management and coaching staff, coaching staff occupying dual coach-management roles, and club ownership's lack of engagement with their players. The Joint Investigative Team found no evidence that Wahlke took any steps to transition management of the investigation to a successor when she left U.S. Soccer in 2020, and she does not appear to have notified anyone that she still considered the investigation open. NEWARK, NJ - After years of bad press, Phil Murphy's Sky Blue soccer team was. The NWSL should establish rules prohibiting an individual from occupying more than one of the following positions at a club: principal owner, general manager, and head coach. Historically, clubs sometimes conducted investigations into allegations of misconduct, and the NWSL was not involved in certain investigations. The calendar crisis explained. He shared personal information with her, talking about his ex-wife, his relationship status, and his sex life, including describing his preferred sexual positions. According to Malik, Paulson told him in 2019 that the Thorns did not terminate Riley, but that Riley's contract was not renewed. Neither the Flash nor the Courage-the NWSL clubs that employed Riley after he was terminated from the Thorns-received a copy of the Thorns's 2015 investigative report detailing Riley's misconduct. Maybe. 74, At the time of Benstiti's hiring, Bill Predmore was the club's majority owner and CEO, and he conducted the head coach search process. As discussed above, in early 2022, counsel for the Pride conducted an investigation into reports of inappropriate conduct by Head Coach Amanda Cromwell and Assistant Coach Sam Greene. Levine explained that, at that time, her role in investigations was unclear and that her only instruction was to ensure the League was informed of investigation results by clubs because of its direct employment relationship with players. A club staff member said the relationship made players feel that they did not have anyone to talk to or anyone to trust." As applied to the Red Stars, the non-disparagement clause restricted not only Whisler but also "[all] owners, executive and senior management and front office staff" from making any negative, critical, or disparaging statements about Dames. In September 2014, U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati was made aware of a complaint by Christen Press that Dames created a toxic environment at the Red Stars, but did not prompt U.S. Soccer to act in response to the complaint. Failure to Identify Reporting Channels and Obligations in Club AntiHarassment Policies The NWSL should increase transparency regarding the outcomes of investigations and the NWSL's investigation processes generally. Black Women's Player Collective representatives told the Joint Investigative Team that they experienced racial microaggressions on their teams. The overlap of the two reports also proved problematic in some cases. . The Joint Investigative Team found multiple instances of romantic relationships between players and staff members in violation of this policy. In explaining the transactions the club made before the next season, Williams said, "We needed to make a lot of changes-we were last [in the League]. Some coaches and staff staunchly defended certain conduct as "tough coaching," demanding, or directness, even when players found the conduct emotionally abusive. Hammond recalled telling Kurtz in a phone call that the Courage were not able to find a trade for her. Hammond said that Kurtz's agent had requested a trade, and Hammond reached out to teams to try to find a trade for Kurtz. 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. Paulson told the Joint Investigative Team that he believed the NWSL could and would convey information about Riley's misconduct to the Flash. The policy contains a broad prohibition on harassment, discrimination, bullying, and retaliation, and explicitly applies to "any and all" forms of each type of misconduct. Confusion Over the Role of SafeSport She recalled hearing Riley make negative "comments about players who [had] made the national team and then stopped doing favors for him. The report identifies several instances in which basic criminal records checks would come back clean, but where reference checks would have revealed character issues regarding potential hires. Similarly, Levine reported that, prior to 2020, the League had only been involved in one or two investigations, and that no formal procedure for handling complaints had been developed. Many clubs' anti-harassment policies were too narrow because they only prohibited unlawful harassment. July 9, 2021 Alyse LaHue is fired as general manager of Gotham FC . In late August 2021, approximately four weeks after Simon first disclosed Holly's abuse to Starr, Starr told Louisville City's chaplain Garrett Bates that Holly was "sexually harassing" a player, and that he had "touched a player inappropriately." When the investigation concluded in September 2019, Wahlke failed to share relevant information about the investigative findings with the NWSL or the Red Stars, citing U.S. Soccer's privilege as the rationale for not sharing this information. The next day, the Thorns placed Riley on administrative leave pending an investigation, which Paulson directed Garcia to begin. Most players enter the League through a draft, and player contracts are not required to be guaranteed. One interviewee reported that some clubs that had HR departments historically [could not] use them because of the single-entity structure [of the NWSL]." In January 2020, Simon left West Ham and signed with the Dash. Another player said it was "tough" to report "racial allegations" as a Black woman because "it almost feels like you're having to convince someone that it actually happened." This witness said that Riley did not make similar comments about players in relationships with men. B. IV. O'Connor responded, Confidentiality in our culture suggests it is an issue which is either illegal or immoral," and the players responded that it did not fall into those categories. However, Riley's misconduct at the Courage extended beyond inappropriate comments about weight. 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." A text message conversation between Whisler and Dames confirms the player's concern. The Flash were not fully informed of the allegations or investigative findings against Riley, and they received a favorable assessment of Riley from Wilkinson. Eventually, she reported the staff member to her coach because she felt that the staff member was "crossing the line and making [her] uncomfortable." "We existed because [our owner] wanted a soccer team for his daughter. The 2022 Anti-Harassment Policy requires clubs to promptly report all reports of misconduct to the League. After the meeting, one of the players said she felt like things were getting better. As one staff member explained, there had "always been a high interest and attention" in this player by LaHue. After Dames tendered his resignation, Whisler entered into a separation agreement with Dameseven though Dames was terminable at will. They stated that they had difficulty convincing the Board of Governors to act. For example, a member of club management reported that when Sky Blue hired Christy Holly as their head coach in August 2020, he was not subject to a criminal background check. Many players who spoke with the Joint Investigative Team were not aware that they could report concerns about misconduct to SafeSport. Multiple players said that they felt they could not decline social invitations from coaches. The NWSL should provide clear guidance to players, club staff, and League staff addressing how to use the program and clear examples of disputes that are appropriate for the program. Players expressed a belief that the close relationships between coaching staff and management meant any complaints of misconduct would fall on deaf ears or subject them to retaliation. Gulati told the Joint Investigative Team that the Thorns said they would only share the 2015 investigative report with the NWSL and with U.S. Soccer's General Counsel, Levine. There's no one. Players also stated that Pauw commented on players' legs as being "bulky" and prohibited players from lifting weights based on her view that it would make them bulkier when she wanted players to be lean. The content of this report is sensitive and graphic. While recent efforts have been made to streamline the reporting and investigation procedures, the NWSL could take additional steps to further streamline and improve these procedures and communicate them more clearly to all players, club staff, and NWSL staff.