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After the meeting, the team captains followed up with Clarkson and reportedly told him that his conduct had scared players. D. Since 2019, some clubs have offered their own anti-harassment trainings, but those trainings have not been approved by the NWSL, and one club's HR staff reported that the NWSL had not been helpful in developing trainings. As discussed above, the USSF Dames Investigation resulted in a draft" report. He often invited certain players to have lunch or dinner with him, taking one small group of players out to dinner on a regular basis. In December 2012, the Red Stars officially hired Dames as its first head coach in the newly-formed NWSL. He said that Kurtz seemed accepting of this news, but she mentioned in passing something about Riley calling her chubby." The League received information about Riley's misconduct while at the Thorns, but the League allowed him to continue to coach, first at the Flash and then at the Courage. It provides a successful (albeit anonymous) example of this working in late 2021. Through counsel, the Thorns emailed Levine a copy of the report with its attachments. Farid Benstiti (OL Reign, Head Coach, 2020-2021) D. The NWSL began its own investigation into the player's complaint, but stopped after two days at the direction of U.S. Soccer. Upon the conclusion of the investigation, U.S. Soccer did not communicate the investigation's factual findings to the players, the Red Stars, or the NWSL. Players who preferred to remain anonymous were invited to contact the Joint Investigative Team anonymously by calling or emailing a hotline maintained by Covington. Predmore said he told Benstiti that his comments were not appropriate and that he was not permitted to have a conversation with any players about diet, nutrition, or fitness under any circumstance. An individual affiliated with the USWNTPA described former U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati as a puppeteer overseeing the League and recalled Gulati exerting authority over proposed player trades. Paul Riley engaged in sexual misconduct towards Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim. One player recalled that Holly "suddenly exploded" during the meeting. 120, An explanation of the reporting channels should also be a key component to antiharassment training, anti-bullying training, anti-retaliation training, and any other trainings the NWSL or clubs provide. Observations and Findings This scope included both sexual misconduct and other forms of misconduct. This mandatory anti-harassment training should be interactive and provide opportunities for participants to ask questions. This investigation followed. Development of an Anti-Harassment Policy It didn't matter that the girls had other jobs-this team was their life." 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. 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. Novo explained that before this happened, players approached him and requested a meeting to share concerns about Holly. Washington Spirit The NWSL began requiring background checks of prospective coaches and other club staff, and it has begun efforts to offer an anti-harassment training for players, coaches, and League and club staff. Levine did not recall reviewing survey responses in the ordinary course, but told the Joint Investigative Team that she would have expected survey responses referring to abuse to be elevated to HR, the commissioner, and to her. To conduct the training, the NWSL should consider engaging a third party with expertise in anti-racism, antisemitism, and DEI in the professional sports context. Paulson told the Joint Investigative Team that he described to Wahlke the incident involving the coerced kiss between Farrelly and Shim, and they discussed the investigative findings and the fact that Riley had been terminated. 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. a) Definition of Retaliation She added that it was possible her performance had in fact decreased because she was not comfortable with the situation. 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. Commissioner of the NWSL, detailing numerous instances of sexually inappropriate conduct by Riley during the 2015 season. Lydia Wahlke (U.S. Soccer, Chief Legal Officer, 2017-2020) Clarkson put her in as a substitute, and she soon began struggling with pain. To the player, the undertone of the response-and of the owner's consistent approach to such requests over the years-was clear: "Why are you not grateful for what I'm providing? The player recalled thinking, I can be grateful and still ask for progress." Boundary Blurring Between Players and Staff Burke screamed and cursed at players, even when those players were crying and visibly emotional. This league, eventually named the National Women's Soccer League, began play in April 2013. This behavior contrasted with other periods during which he would ignore Shim. 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. F. As became evident to some of the witnesses in 2015, the investigation appeared to be focused more on determining whether Shim might have a legal claim and on limiting the club's liability than on thorough fact-gathering. 123, F. Require Certification of the Completion of Mandatory Trainings and Closely Track Compliance - NWSL abuse allegations as they happened: Portland Thorns, Washington Spirit timelines, day by day. Flynn clarified that while he was copied on "several emails that relate to the results of those surveys," he did not recall ever personally reviewing them. She was hired that May as vice president. Sky Blue was not the only club at which a staff member and player became involved. Reis may not return to work until she has completed the mandatory training, acknowledged wrongdoing, and demonstrated a sincere commitment to modifying her behavior. Whisler acknowledged to the Joint Investigative Team that he had spoken to Dames and the players involved in the complaint because he felt it was necessary to address the issues they raised. 2. During this conversation, he asked Holly, "How would you like to handle that?" The Yahoo! Precious little information has been available about what went down between LaHue and Gotham. . 5. On August 16, 2017, Sky Blue announced that Holly was "stepping down" as head coach, and the club said it had come to a mutual agreement with Holly" and that he left "on good terms." The current policy states that prohibited retaliation could include adversely affecting working conditions, and the revised policy should expand upon what it means to adversely affect working conditions and provide specific examples, such as ostracizing or ignoring players, denying players training opportunities or playing time, or showing favoritism toward players. Players and staff also described coaches creating emotionally toxic workplace environments by subjecting players to volatility or manipulation. The history of women's professional soccer in the United States, and the looming possibility that the NWSL would fold as its predecessors had done, was never far from players' minds, in part because clubs explicitly relied on that history to stifle criticism. amounted to verbal and emotional abuse." Investigative Methodology. Further, U.S. Soccer paused its investigation for one month from March to April 2019 while SafeSport exercised jurisdiction over a complaint about Dames marrying one of his former youth players. 5. In particular, and as detailed in the findings section of this Report, the Thorns, Racing Louisville, and the Red Stars withheld key documents from the Joint Investigative Team on these grounds until late in this investigation, and after U.S. Soccer released King & Spalding's USSF Report. Dames's conduct was also often personal. 2021 NWSL abuse scandal - Wikipedia On the Monday night before the game, four Dash players had dinner at a Pumas player's apartment and returned to their hotel around midnight. 14 Shim declined politely so as not to upset Riley, stating she had to prepare for a game the following day, and she walked out the door despite his attempts to persuade her to stay. Reflecting on the agreement, Whisler said that he believed the provisions were standard" and the club "just tried to get through it . Holly also verbally abused players and retaliated against those who raised complaints about him. At the other end of the spectrum, another club "leaned on the League to run the background checks" or, in the case of its head coach, "did not do that vetting because in the soccer community, [the coach] was such a public and well-known figure." Although U.S. Soccer and League leadership at various points discussed and explored the creation of conduct policies, none were ever adopted or implemented. Shim and Farrelly expressed concern that Riley was still coaching in the NWSL, and Farrelly provided additional information regarding Riley that should have been of interest to the NWSL, but Levine did not take any steps to investigate further and drafted responsive language for then-Commissioner Lisa Baird to send to Shim and Farrelly conveying that the matter was closed. In September 2015, Gulati and Flynn received Shim's email containing allegations against Riley, and during the Thorns's investigation, they received some updates related to Riley and to the investigation from Levine. Some players reported that living in such close proximity to club staff, including their coaches, made them feel uncomfortable and contributed to a lack of boundaries between the personal lives of the players and club staff. A member of Coaches' behavior may cross the line into emotional misconduct when their criticisms are divorced from performance-related or corrective language, including by using insults or derogatory language to criticize players, attacking characteristics of players that are unrelated to their professional performance, or threatening players' careers. . Plush, the senior-most executive at the League, did not take any steps to ensure that the Flash, the Courage, and the players who would be coached by Riley were aware of the risks he posed. Kurtz said that Riley's conduct led her to develop an eating disorder for which she later sought professional help. Another comment said that the "coach made this year horrible for most people" and expressed uncertainty that people would be honest in their survey responses "out of fear." The agreement also provided that Racing Louisville would take over the future payment obligations of Holly's apartment lease if Holly vacated the apartment. Wahlke agreed that the investigation proceeded stepwise and also stressed that the investigator had trouble contacting players during the off-season and the 2019 World Cup. Riley returned from the restroom and asked the women, who had been assigned by Riley to share hotel rooms on team road trips during the season, if they "hooked up" while traveling for games, a notion he had raised even before that night and something they denied doing. The NWSLPA and the League began collective bargaining in late 2020, and Meghann Burke was hired to a full-time position as the Executive Director of the NWSLPA in early 2021. 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. 3. In spite of this, there is no evidence that Levine provided the Flash with additional details about Riley's past conduct. Wilkinson said that on advice of counsel for the Thorns, he did not discuss the reason for Riley's termination and did not tell Lines about the allegations against Riley. From her perspective, the concerns about Dames were not an emergency situation because the players identified as Dames's primary targets were no longer with the team" and the issues involved "older conduct." After Thorp left, Riley brought out more alcohol and turned on music, asking Shim to dance with him. Plush also said he spoke to Lines and Alex Sahlen in January 2016, encouraging them to look elsewhere for a new coach." 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. On November 4, 2022, these findings were conveyed to the NWSL, NWSLPA, Thorns, Wilkinson, and the player involved. 8. WUSA enjoyed initial success, with all-star lineups, television exposure, and high attendance at games. Many players bravely recounted painful and personal experiences before and during this investigation in service of truth, accountability, and reform. Players were confused about where to report misconduct, and the absence of clear guidance about reporting channels or designated personnel to receive reports compounded the problem. One player said that the observed closeness between Holly and the staff member created a crazy, weird power dynamic," where the staff member was given improper decision-making authority over issues like nutrition. Ratings: Fofana 8/10 as Chelsea pick up first league win in six, Ten Hag must learn from Mourinho to ensure Man United's Carabao Cup win is just the start, Raul and Valverde are keeping Madrid prodigy Alvaro's feet on the ground, Man United must make every penny count to beat FFP and continue recovery, LIVE Transfer Talk: Bayern still keen on Kane despite new Choupo-Moting contract. Simon felt scared and physically intimidated. Since the training in 2019, the NWSL has not offered a League-wide antiharassment training. Simon told Holly she was uncomfortable and did her best to get out of the house, but she did not want to anger Holly because she was scared.