One player told the Joint Investigative Team that when Black players raised the issue of race, they were "pushed to the side" or made to feel "crazy." Additionally, Whisler repeatedly minimized and dismissed concerns raised by players and staff about Dames. Baird then-again based on a response Levine had drafted-responded to Farrelly with an email similar to the one she had sent Shim, stating that the initial complaint in 2015 had been investigated to conclusion" and that she could not "share any additional details." Estes, O'Connor, and Wilkins attended this meeting with players. The Current's employee handbook states that employees "should not be employed in positions with supervisory responsibilities over the work of any family member or other person with whom the employee has a romantic or similarly close relationship," but it does not clarify if this applies only to relationships between club employees, or whether it also applies to relationships between club employees and players, who are NWSL employees. d) a C. Other Inconsistencies Between the NWSL Anti-Harassment Policy and Club Policies As discussed in more detail below, Pauw also strictly controlled players' eating and workout habits. As U.S. Soccer General Counsel, Lisa Levine received Shim's September 2015 email containing allegations against Riley on the same day Shim sent the complaint, and Levine received updates about the Thorns's 2015 investigation regarding Riley from the outside counsel hired by the Thorns. Multiple players, in public statements or in interviews with the Joint Investigative Team, reported that they experienced retaliation for reporting concerns about Dames. 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. Plush told the Joint Investigative Team that the Flash had been considering Riley since October 2015, and Plush warned Lines in October 2015 that the Flash should not hire Riley but should follow up with the Thorns as to why Riley was "no longer coaching there." USWNT and Portland Thorns' Becky Sauerbrunn speaks out after findings of systemic abuse across women's soccer in the Yates report. The union is referenced by players in the report as a default place to voice concerns, for lack of historical human resources departments in the league and at clubs, but concerns remain over how reported complaints are handled. 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. Subsequently, on more than one occasion, Holly held doors open for Simon and grabbed her buttocks as she passed by him. That same day, the NWSLPA issued an expanded list of demands, including that (i) every coach, manager, and owner take part in an investigation into abuse; (ii) the scope of the NWSL's investigation be expanded to include every club; (iii) the scope be expanded to include League administration; (iv) the League implement a "Step Back Protocol, to require individuals in a position of power to be suspended in some circumstances when a person being investigated for abuse had been working under them; (v) the League release the details of internal reports into abuse; (vi) the NWSL disclose findings, conclusions and reports in connection with the NWSL's investigation to the NWSLPA; (vii) the NWSL cooperate with the NWSLPA; and (viii) the NWSLPA have a say in the hiring of the next NWSL commissioner. The investigation began in May 2018, and within a few weeks, another player made a separate complaint to the NWSL about Dames. When asked about his comment, Burke claimed that he was not making light of the incident, but rather that he was upset about it. Black Women's Player Collective representatives told the Joint Investigative Team that they experienced racial microaggressions on their teams. Around this time, a Racing Louisville staff member raised concerns that Holly was romantically involved with another staff member at Racing Louisville and that this alleged relationship negatively impacted the team environment. During the sixth minute of each match, the teams stopped play and gathered in a circle at midfield in recognition of the six years it had taken for the reports against Riley to become public. (Racial microaggressions are intentional or unintentional verbal or behavioral actions, often brief and commonplace, that insult or discredit people of color). 79, In some cases, players reported that club leadership failed to protect them from retaliation. This player who observed the incident from the bench said she discussed the incident with Clarkson and he agreed that he did not handle it correctly. Some clubs provide housing for both staff and players, and in some cases, staff and players lived in the same apartment complexes. The League and Clubs Failed to Take Adequate Steps to Protect Players in Hiring and Filling Positions The subjective experience is important to consider when assessing whether conduct rises to the level of emotional misconduct. In a written statement, Wilkinson denied this account of his discussion with Lines. At a team meeting the next day, players observed that Clarkson was visibly angry as he reprimanded the team at length, calling them selfish, disrespectful, and unprofessional by going out drinking prior to a game. The staff member stated that Clarkson believed that the player was 100%" fit to play because she had dressed for the game, although the player reported that Clarkson was aware she had been dealing with the injury. Emotional Misconduct Maintaining a competitive women's professional league in the United States has long been viewed as critical to the long-term success of the USWNT. B. (Paulson has since deleted these tweets.) Conduct Background Checks on All Prospective Club Owners, Staff, and Volunteers Who May Interact With Players Novo explained that before this happened, players approached him and requested a meeting to share concerns about Holly. Where necessary to gather additional facts, the NWSLPA further followed up with some players directly, requesting they share their experiences with the Joint Investigative Team. The same is true of the Red Stars's hiring of Rory Dames as their head coach. . Upon reading the article regarding Riley in The Athletic, Kurtz recognized many of her own experiences with Riley in the accounts of Shim and Farrelly, identified his conduct towards her as abusive, and realized that he had been grooming her for sexual abuse. As another example of a coach targeting a player's personal attributes, according to a staff member, Holly criticized a player by wondering aloud why he had "wasted a draft pick" on her after a stress test revealed she had a medical condition. You should be so grateful for me. Coupled with the fact that Clarkson served as both head coach and general manager, this perceived close relationship led players to feel like they had no avenues to report their concerns and that no one was monitoring Clarkson's conduct to ensure that it was appropriate. These updates were provided under a common interest agreement, which restricted Levine's ability to share what she learned in those conversations. Historically, SafeSport has been an ineffective reporting channel for NWSL players experiencing misconduct. In response, the owner pointed out that the player was one of the highest-paid players in the League and discussed how club expenses came out of his own pocket. One player recalled that six players spoke during the meeting; only one returned for the next season. In addition, she agreed that Dames's conduct would violate the SafeSport Code of Conduct, if it had applied. One former player recalled that her college goalkeeper coach and assistant coach were both married to former players. Develop and Enforce Guidelines Addressing Appropriate Interactions Between Club Staff and Players In 2019, when U.S. Soccer was considering Riley for the role of USWNT head coach, Duffy and Levine worked with NWSL communications staff to prepare a draft public statement related to the complaints against Riley and the investigation into his conduct. The NWSL should train all League and club staff designated to receive complaints and other club leaders, including coaches, on how to respond to complaints of misconduct and on investigative best practices. Wahlke also showed USWNT General Manager Kate Markgraf-who was involved in hiring the USWNT coach and who told the Joint Investigative Team that Riley was never seriously considered-a document containing some of the allegations that had been made against Riley in 2015. Several players and staff described Clarkson's mood as unpredictable or hot or cold, leading players to feel like they were walking on eggshells around him or would not know what to expect in terms of his attitude on any given day. She remembered that Holly "verbally attacked players, and his behavior was "just different" than it had been in 2016. Following the survey responses, Whisler wrote in an email, I can tell you that Rory offered his resignation to me last night because of the embarrassment he thought it caused the organization. Instead of addressing players' concerns, Whisler repeatedly downplayed them and protected Dames throughout his tenure. C. On October 11, 2022, Paulson further stated that he was removing himself as CEO of the Thorns and the Portland Timbers, and was announcing a search for a permanent CEO. Later that day, NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird resigned. 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. 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. - NWSL investigation finds 'ongoing misconduct,' details culture of abuse. For example, the Courage re-signed Jaelene Daniels in 2021, after her brief retirement. Together with favorable comments Paulson and Wilkinson made about Riley, this reinforced the impression formed by the Flash and the Courage that Riley had not engaged in misconduct when employed by the Thorns. In September 2015, a player on the Thorns, Meleana "Mana" Shim, emailed a complaint to leadership within the Thorns and to Jeff Plush, then Holly complained to Simon about Hendrix and referred to Hendrix as a "cockblock." Players told the Joint Investigative Team that the NWSL's culture and the unstable history of women's professional soccer in the United States deterred them from raising concerns about abuse, bullying, harassment, and other forms of misconduct. Players raised multiple concerns about him to club management. 3 On September 30, 2021, The Athletic reported that Courage Head Coach Paul Riley had sexually coerced players and made derogatory comments about players' weight and sexual orientation prior to and during his tenure as head coach of the Thorns. The new report claimed it studied all reports of inappropriate conduct toward players in the league since its launch in 2012. This lack of transparency enabled Riley to continue to coach NWSL players for another six years after he was fired from the Thorns. Rutgers has been a great partner to us . Of the ten clubs that were in operation in October 2021, seven did not have dedicated HR staff tasked with receiving complaints or reports of misconduct and with investigating misconduct. Kurtz came forward to the Courage and reported this misconduct. The agreement increased minimum player salaries; created free agency; and provided severance pay, mental health, and parental leave. Instead, Wilkinson said he told Lines that U.S. Soccer had the report, and Paulson said Wilkinson was advised to direct to the NWSL questions the Flash had about Riley. One NWSLPA member expressed the need for training on the Anti-Harassment Policy. Farrelly's email. Shim told Garcia that she did not want Riley to coach anywhere in the NWSL, which is why she had alerted the NWSL commissioner, Plush. However, Benstiti did not comply with that directive. She later described feeling "powerless" and "scared to say no." The NWSL announced on October 3, 2021, that it had retained Covington to conduct an independent investigation into workplace misconduct within the League and to recommend reforms. The player described feeling shocked at the sudden threat because her teammate "[hadn't] done a thing and was harmless." On September 16, 2015, Shim reported Riley's conduct to the Thorns and to the NWSL. Racing Louisville entered into a severance agreement with Holly upon his departure, which provided for a severance payment to Holly of $14,000. In March 2021, a group of 240 NWSL players signed a letter to Commissioner Lisa Baird urging the NWSL to adopt an anti-harassment policy. Expectations of Gratitude and Acquiescence However, the joint investigative team indicated in the report that based on the totality of the evidence, misconduct did occur, notwithstanding these discrepancies, which are not described in any detail. Lack of Uniform Training It was mean." Following the September 30, 2021, publication of the Athletic article detailing allegations against Courage Head Coach Paul Riley, the NWSLPA released a statement announcing that players would "no longer be complicit in a culture of silence that has enabled abuse and exploitation in [the League] and in [soccer]." In spotlighting individuals accused of misconduct including former North Carolina Courage, Portland Thorns and Philadelphia Independence manger Paul Riley the report restates some things that have already been reported. The failure by U.S. Soccer to share its investigation findings with the NWSL or the Red Stars was particularly perplexing in light of the fact that Wahlke had instructed the NWSL to stand down in its own investigation of Dames, and the fact that U.S. Soccer had concluded it was not in a position to take any action against Dames. Our players respect what Holly does as a coach and how he treats other players, coaches, and staff." The Yates report made note of teams and individuals who did not cooperate, including the Portland Thorns, Chicago Red Stars, and Racing Louisville FC.
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