Former Deputy United States Attorney General and current partner at King & Spalding Sally Yates Monday released a 172-page report detailing “systemic” abuse at all levels of women’s soccer in the US and particularly in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). ESPN Tuesday released a documentary by journalist Lisa Salter echoing the Yates report.
Yates and Salter found that league leadership failed to address claims of abuse and misconduct. In many cases, players did not even know how to report misconduct. When Mana Shim was sexually harassed by Portland Thorns coach Paul Riley, she confided in teammate Alex Morgan. Morgan told Salter, “I couldn’t find an HR contact. I couldn’t find an anonymous hotline. I couldn’t even find an anti-harassment policy that might lay out exactly what he was doing that was reportable.”
When players managed to report misconduct, Yates found that the league did not prioritize player safety. According to the report:
Abusive coaches were able to move from team to team, and even to USSF [US Soccer Federation], because the teams, the League, and USSF failed to identify misconduct and inform others when necessary. Further, the teams, the League, and the Federation generally appear to have prioritized avoiding defamation or employment lawsuits from coaches over the safety of players elsewhere in the League. To prevent this cycle from repeating, it is essential that misconduct is not concealed with ‘thank you for your service’ press releases, and that teams hiring coaches have accurate information about a coach’s history.
In one instance, NWSL team Racing Lousville fired head coach Christy Holly but did not disclose that he engaged in “long-term and egregious sexual misconduct against a player.” NWSL and US Women’s National Team (USWNT) player Christen Press repeatedly complained about abusive and discriminatory behavior from Chicago Red Stars coach Rory Dames. Yates discovered that executives in USSF and the NWSL and USWNT head coach Jill Ellis had written evidence of Press’ complaints but failed to take action.
Yates also investigated SafeSport, a nonprofit established by the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017. According to Yates, “SafeSport’s jurisdictional mandate does not preclude the NWSL or the teams from independently investigating and resolving sexual misconduct allegations.” When SafeSport does investigate claims by professional women’s soccer players, it most often closes the matters with no action taken. Since June 1, 2020, SafeSport “resolved 278 cases related to USSF Participants. For the 156 cases involving allegations of sexual misconduct without a criminal disposition, the vast majority (131) of these resolutions were administrative closures.” SafeSport employs just 30 investigators to serve 11 million athletes.
Yates’ report recommends extensive reforms in the NWSL, including appointing dedicated safety officers and issuing clear codes of conduct for coaches at all levels.
These investigations come eight months after the USWNT settled a lawsuit with USSF over claims of gender discrimination in pay and working conditions.
