There’s a Long Overdue Reckoning Happening In Women’s Soccer

Over the last few weeks, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has found itself confronting a slew of disturbing allegations from players, including sexual harassment, coercion, and emotional abuse by coaches.

The revelations of alleged misconduct detailed in a report from The Athletic had an almost instantaneous effect: NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird resigned, and the league announced it was conducting several internal investigations. Since then, high-profile players like Orlando Pride forward Alex Morgan have gone public to condemn NWSL. On Twitter, Morgan wrote that “the league must accept responsibility for a process that failed to protect its own players from this abuse.”

Here’s everything you need to know about the accusations—and how players are reacting to the league’s response.

The reckoning in women’s soccer was prompted by The Athletic.

In a Sept. 30 report from The Athletic, soccer players Meleana “Mana” Shim and Sinead Farrelly accused their former North Carolina Courage Coach Paul Riley of sexual coercion and verbal abuse. The players told The Athletic that Riley had allegedly been sexually coercing players since around 2010. Farrelly and Shim also said that Riley once asked them to kiss in front of him in exchange for an easier workout. In response to the report, Riley told The Athletic, “I have never had sex with, or made sexual advances towards these players.”

Riley was fired just a few hours after The Athletic’s report was published, according to Sporting News.

NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird has resigned.

In response to the story, NWSL cancelled a weekend of matches and released a statement from Baird announcing a new system to help players report misconduct anonymously. One day later, the league announced Baird’s resignation.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

The league’s ability to protect its players is now in question.

Over the last year, NWSL has been rocked by a series of other controversies involving team officials. This summer, Washington Spirit Coach Richie Burke was fired after players detailed verbal and emotional abusive by Burke to the Washington Post. Following Burke’s termination, Washington Spirit majority owner and CEO Steve Baldwin announced that he was stepping down from his post after 27 players signed a letter asking him to resign.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Racing Louisville Coach Christy Holly was reportedly terminated “for cause” last month, but the team did not specify why, according to the Louisville Courier Journal. A fourth coach, Farid Benstiti of the OL Reign, a team based out of Tacoma, WA, resigned in July after allegedly making inappropriate comments to players, according to The Washington Post.

Current and former players are demanding NWSL do more.

Morgan, a U.S. national team superstar posted a Twitter thread (including an email exchange between fellow soccer player Sinead Farrelly and Baird) claiming that NWSL was informed of allegations made against Paul Riley, “multiple times and refused multiple times to investigate the allegations.” Morgan wrote on Twitter that the league, “must accept responsibility for a process that failed to protect its own players from this abuse.”

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Other current and former players, including Megan Rapinoe also called for change on social media.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Women athletes from other sports, including Aly Raisman, are also showing their support.

Gold medal gymnast Aly Raisman, a leading voice in the fight to end sexual abuse in sports, asked her followers to “please listen” to the athletes’ allegations. “I support all the soccer players who have courageously come forward. Thank you for your bravery,” Raisman tweeted.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

FIFA, U.S. Soccer, and NWSL have all opened investigations.

In response to the allegations of misconduct by team officials, NWSL has formed an executive committee to “manage oversight of the league’s front office operations.” The league is also launching “several critical investigative and reform initiatives to protect players and staff, and the environments in which athletes live, train, and compete to give athletes the agency and ability to safely report misconduct of any form.”

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

The U.S. Soccer Federation, the sport’s national governing body, is also taking action. The organization retained former U.S. Attorney and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to conduct an independent investigation, according to The Hill. The Federation said in a statement that Yates will be given “full autonomy, access and the necessary resources to follow the facts and evidence wherever they may lead.”

FIFA announced it too is “actively looking into the matter and have opened a preliminary investigation.”

This post will be updated as new developments emerge.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io