The NWSL published the findings of its joint investigation into misconduct, harassment and discrimination in the league. Covington & Burling LLP and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP led the investigation.
Together, they found that more than half of the clubs in the NWSL had a history of misconduct. The report listed eight clubs in the 12-team league. That includes previously reported incidents involving Paul Riley, Rory Dames, and Christy Holly. However, the findings extend beyond a handful of cases of abuse, harassment and discrimination.
The joint NWSL investigation stated that the underlying culture of the NWSL created fertile ground for misconduct to go unreported. The league, which launched in 2012, was fragile and financially unstable. For many of the players, it was their best chance to play professional women’s soccer. So executives and coaches told the players to be grateful for the chance to play and essentially do anything to ensure the league and their careers stay on their feet. Players said this NWSL culture discouraged them from reporting misconduct.
Also, the players and coaches were never trained on what constituted abuse or misconduct. The players also did not know where or when to report it.
Additionally, the NWSL joint research listed recommendations. In short, that includes a total overhaul and systemic reform.
Joint NWSL investigation labels eight clubs with misconduct in the recent past
Most people knew about the problems with Paul Riley, Rory Dames and Christy Holly. The investigative team delved into the NWSL’s misconduct. The misconduct identified around five other teams revolves around sexual misconduct, inappropriate relationships with players, blurring of professional boundaries, racially insensitive comments, inappropriate statements about the weight and body type of gamblers and other forms of emotional misconduct, and retaliation for reporting misconduct.
The Washington Spirit and the Kansas City Current, for example, had sections in the report about the futility of speaking out against coaches. For KC Current head coach Huw Williams actively got rid of players who spoke out against him at a club meeting.
Another concern was the lack of verification and investigation that NWSL previously conducted. For example, Racing Louisville did not fully investigate Christy Holly’s treatment of players in its recruiting process. Then investigation of NWSL’s Paul Riley in 2015 only revealed “misjudgment”, but no explanation for this characterization.
recommendations
As a result, the NWSL’s joint investigation presented a series of recommendations for the league to take to counter these issues going forward. The NWSL is working on some of them. For example, the report wants to strengthen anti-harassment policies, something the league claimed to have been doing for the past 14 months.
In addition, the report wants the league to make more clear and available guidelines and definitions of harassment. The league has plans to do that for the 2023 season, which starts in a few months.
PHOTO: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire
