According to that document, Wilkinson told Lines and then-Flash President Alex Sahlen-who is also the daughter of former Flash owner Joe Sahlen and the wife of Lines-that an investigation into Riley had occurred based on "only one incident with a disgruntled player," but that no wrongdoing was found. Interviews with club and League personnel suggested a lack of information sharing both within Sky Blue and with the League. . Gotham subsequently terminated the GMs employment. The League and Clubs Failed to Take Adequate Steps to Protect Players in Hiring and Filling Positions As discussed above, in early 2022, counsel for the Pride conducted an investigation into reports of inappropriate conduct by Head Coach Amanda Cromwell and Assistant Coach Sam Greene. The Joint Investigative Team carefully considered which individuals to identify by name in this Report. 5. In the course of this investigation, the Joint Investigative Team spoke to 47 individuals with knowledge relevant to Riley, including current and former players, key leaders including owners and general managersfrom the Thorns and the Courage, and other current and former club staff, League staff, and U.S. Soccer staff who were involved in or had information about the 2015 Thorns Investigation and Riley's subsequent hiring at the Flash and the Courage. 35, conducting thorough fact-finding. Multiple players said that they felt they could not decline social invitations from coaches. Which duo has the most goal contributions in Europe this season? Even within the soccer world, the player explained, a tone appropriate for the field would not be appropriate in other settings, such as locker rooms, team dinners, or one-on-one meetings with players. We discussed them at length in his interview." It was not until August 2022, after seven months of requests, that U.S. Soccer provided the Joint Investigative Team with a copy of the USSF Dames Report. 22, b) One player said, After games, you could find [Riley] at the bar with players buying drinks, which she felt crossed "a propriety line." 3. The NWSL should share with U.S. Soccer when a club employee is removed from a club due to a finding of misconduct under the Anti-Harassment Policy to allow U.S. Soccer to take necessary measures to prevent that employee from engaging in further misconduct in youth soccer or in other leagues, including the removal of coaching licenses where necessary. The NWSL began the roll-out of training by the U.S. Center for SafeSport in January 2021. The 2022 Anti-Harassment Policy applies an objective standard for emotional misconduct. Her dismissal was based on the results of an NWSL investigation into a . Alyse LaHue shares her excitement about the future of the NWSL at the same time she is not shy to reflect on the need of having more women in the game.Alyse . 2. Just get out there and fucking play." Some clubs provide housing for both staff and players, and in some cases, staff and players lived in the same apartment complexes. 68, Coaches can also engage in verbal misconduct when they target players for personal attributes or immutable characteristics, such as their appearance, parental status, medical condition, or socioeconomic and educational background. For example, in 2021 following an NWSL game in Houston, Sarah Gorden, a Black player, posted on social media that her boyfriend, who went to see her in the stands after the game, was followed by stadium security and was told he would be arrested if he came close. On a third team, a player described her coach threatening players with waiver after the coach heard that those players had questioned decisions he made during training. According to Markgraf, Wahlke said that the Thorns had investigated the matter, and Markgraf understood from the conversation that Riley had been cleared and that his departure from the club was not related to the 2015 investigation. 3. However, the allegations once again were not responded to appropriately by the NWSL, including by Levine, who had read Shim's 2015 allegations against Riley as well as the 2015 investigative report. a) Reports of Misconduct in Survey Comments The article also noted Horan's observation that Benstiti's insistence on weight loss was "more [about] how you were seen and not how it was helping you play. An April 2019 Adidas commercial focused on Horan overcoming her negative experience with Benstiti. In response to the August 11, 2021 Washington Post article stating that Burke verbally and emotionally abused players, Levine told others at the NWSL that the League had not received any complaints about Burke, despite a And we have to do something about it." The Yahoo! Other Inconsistencies Between the NWSL Anti-Harassment Policy and Club Policies The same day, The Athletic reported that the investigation was related to a violation of the NWSL's anti-harassment policy. . 12 Elements of Healthy Relationships - Johns Hopkins University Student Yael Averbuch West was a Jewish soccer star and player advocate. As a The staff member and player then moved to a second club, where they continued their relationship. Predmore notified the players that Benstiti would be removed from his role as head coach. The report's conclusion stated, "Whisler, as an owner, has demonstrated a commitment to continuous improvement of the player experience, as well as an intolerance for abusive and insensitive behaviors. In addition, the report failed to contemplate that even if Dames's comments were not motivated by racial animus, they were still racist. 4. They also feel the non-fraternization policy, first implemented in January 2018, must be more explicit, extend to staff beyond the head coach and "clarify that any sexual or romantic relationship between players and those in supervisory roles over players is strictly prohibited, even if the relationship is consensual. The NWSL should also develop standards for evaluating an applicant's fitness for the position, based on the results of background checks, that are consistent with applicable legal restrictions, including applicable state laws. Chicago Red Stars She described the NWSL office as a "very disempowered place to be given the power and authority of U.S. Revise the Anti-Harassment Policy to Define Retaliation More Clearly The Joint Investigative Team collected documents and other materials from a variety of sources, including the NWSL, its member clubs, the NWSLPA, U.S. Soccer, and various individuals. He went on to describe players as "desperate to get starts" and said he knew that the team would become fragile "if th[e] poison continue[d]." In a statement shared by her attorney, LaHue said she is supportive of reform in the NWSL but takes issue . Players also stated that Pauw commented on players' legs as being "bulky" and prohibited players from lifting weights based on her view that it would make them bulkier when she wanted players to be lean. Simon trained with Holly and Pearce Rampone during this time. Recommendations Simon said she was "terrified" to go to Holly's apartment alone, so she often came up with excuses not to go, or she would bring Hendrix with her. E. Standards for Assessing Reports of Misconduct.. Multiple players and club staff reported that in 2017, while Holly was head coach of Sky Blue, he began dating Pearce Rampone. A player told the Joint Investigative Team that the club first attempted to fix the social media post without acknowledging the error or reaching out to the player, and only later issued an apology after Baucom posted about the error on Twitter. Riley made shaming, non-performancerelated remarks about Kurtz's weight and appearance. This actually isn't okay. 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. The morale around the club seems higher than ever and fans are once again excited to get back into the seats of Yurcak Field. Since the training in 2019, the NWSL has not offered a League-wide antiharassment training. The relationship also created problems among the players. Levine did not report Riley to SafeSport between its creation in 2017 and the publication of the Athletic article. The lack of clearly established responsibilities allowed individuals within these institutions to disclaim personal responsibility for player protection and to turn a blind eye or shift blame to other individuals and entities, while players were left exposed to further misconduct and unsafe environments. Offensive and Insensitive Behavior Related to Race and Ethnicity On September 1, 2021, Holly texted Simon and told her he was fired for "an inappropriate relationship" with her. After players continued to push for a response, including through an HR manager, the club fired the assistant coach. Moreover, leadership at the Thorns made comments favorable to Riley, which further served to obfuscate the misconduct. No further information was made public until October 2022. The lack of uniform NWSL-wide anti-harassment training contributed to players and club staff being unsure what conduct is appropriate and what behavior constitutes misconduct under the policy. That news followed a report from Meg Linehan of The Athletic on Thursday that Paul Riley, who was fired by the North Carolina Courage, had inappropriate sexual relationships with players and made. The 2021 and 2022 Anti-Harassment Policies expressly prohibit retaliation, but retaliation occurred both before and after implementation of the 2021 Anti-Harassment Policy. The club fired LaHue in July 2021. Predmore also began discussing with the management of OL Groupe what action to take with regard to Benstiti. The NWSL should contact an applicant's former employers and, where feasible, former colleagues. After speaking with Levine, the HR employee-understanding Levine and Baird would conduct a follow-up investigation in light of language in Farrelly's email indicating she was raising new allegations-responded to Farrelly, thanking her for reporting and stating, "We take these claims very seriously and do not tolerate any form of harassment within our League. Paulson's and Wilkinson's accounts of the information shared with the Flash are inconsistent with a document the Flash prepared for the Joint Investigative Team's review summarizing the club's vetting and hiring of Riley. E. Enhance Reporting and Investigation Procedures Maybe. Players However, that position is inconsistent with other evidence, including an email from counsel for the Thorns and Plush's own prior communications with Sky Blue. Neither the Flash nor the Courage-the NWSL clubs that employed Riley after he was terminated from the Thorns-received a copy of the Thorns's 2015 investigative report detailing Riley's misconduct. It then describes the Joint Investigative Team's observations and findings based on specific incidents and evidence obtained during the investigation, and summarizes findings of misconduct relating to key individuals and entities. Another player also recalled hearing players say they "would be at [his] pool and drinking," but Riley would then "get mad" because he thought that the players should be training. Clarkson denied Whisler also wrote, "The senior [US]WNT players absolutely want this league to shut down so they don't have as much competition for their spots and so they can make more money overseas." LaHues behavior in connection with [the player] was improper and inappropriate, and a violation of league policies . Under the language of the policy, the question in evaluating conduct is whether it has the potential to cause emotional harm for a similarly situated player, and not whether the target of the conduct in fact experienced such harm or whether the emotional harm was specifically intended. 34, another club following the 2015 investigation. A player similarly described Riley policing details, like players' off-field wardrobes, and described his behavior as creating a constant state of being on edge." According to Novo, after his conversation with ownership, he met with Holly and told him it was "time to move on." Players sometimes reported misconduct through player surveys conducted by the NWSL, even though the surveys were not specifically intended to capture this information. 25, advice of legal counsel. Plush stated that he was advised by counsel that such information was "confidential" and could not be shared by the League. Pauw's presence at the same apartment complex created anxiety among players. Some of these players reported feeling significantly affected by Clarkson's conduct; some reported that it affected their performance during games; and two players reported that they sought therapy. NWSL, NWSLPA joint investigation finds 'widespread misconduct' The Joint Investigative Team learned of a relationship between a staff member and a player, although due to player confidentiality concerns this Report provides limited identifying details. Further, he told the investigator that Dames "ha[d] a hard side, that he had heard players describe Dames "as a bully," and that he had "no doubt" Dames would "ride a player during practice." The agreement also expressly permitted Holly to provide an honest assessment of players' performances-including Simon-notwithstanding the risk that he would retaliate against Simon or others by sharing negative feedback with scouts or coaches. Trainings should include how to conduct an effective, traumainformed interview of an individual making a complaint, how to support that individual and not make comments that deter further reporting, how to document that interview, and how to elevate the issue to the NWSL. North Carolina Courage If misconduct under the Anti-Harassment Policy is revealed as part of the Alternative Complaint Resolution program process, the misconduct should be reported promptly to the NWSL HR Office and/or the NWSL General Counsel. 10. For much of the NWSL's history, the NWSL and many of its clubs did not employ any designated HR staff. Require Separate Individuals to Hold Key Club Leadership Roles 10 The assertion of legal privilege over the investigation, and various communication breakdowns, had the effect of enabling Riley to continue coaching in the NWSL for years after the Thorns fired him, leaving Riley's players, who were not provided with any reason to be wary of him, vulnerable to further misconduct. Dames's boundary-blurring behavior is described in more detail below. c) Necessity of Additional Vetting While Richie Burke was head coach of the Spirit, club management created an environment where players felt it was futile to raise concerns about Burke to anyone at the club. In these instances, U.S. Soccer, the League, and the Thorns shared incomplete and high-level information about Riley's misconduct, which underplayed the extent of his misconduct. She failed to take steps to protect players during the investigation, and ultimately failed to act on evidence of Dames's misconduct. Clubs have also at times failed to share critical information about certain applicants with other clubs, which resulted in clubs hiring coaches accused of misconduct without sufficient information about the allegations. While many clubs properly submitted candidates for the required vetting once these processes were in place, on at least two occasions, clubs hired player-facing staff and allowed them to begin working before they were cleared by the NWSL. The agreement provided Dames with an additional five weeks of pay, and prohibited Dames and the Red Stars from disparaging the other or disclosing to anyone the existence and content of the agreement, with no exception for cooperation with the ongoing investigations. Describing Dames, a Red Stars player stated that a "huge day-to-day struggle was the fear-what was the day going to bring?" Multiple players told the Joint Investigative Team that they felt disconnected from the NWSL or did not know who at the NWSL to contact if they experienced misconduct.
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