Alex Morgan said the former NWSL commissioner lied about being 'shocked and disgusted' by abuse claims
- A recent E60 feature delved into the misconduct scandal rocking the National Women's Soccer League.
- Star Alex Morgan alleged that then-Commissioner Lisa Baird knew about abuse before it came to light.
Alex Morgan won't hesitate to call out lies when she sees them.
And when it comes to the then-commissioner's response to earth-shattering sexual, emotional, and verbal abuse allegations within the National Women's Soccer League, Morgan certainly saw them.
Shortly after the publication of a bombshell report from The Athletic's Meg Linehan that brought to light years of alleged misconduct by Paul Riley — a two-time NWSL Coach of the Year — former league Commissioner Lisa Baird released a statement in which she said she was "shocked and disgusted" by what she had read.
But in a recent ESPN E:60 documentary on the subject called "Truth Be Told: The Fight for Women's Professional Soccer," Morgan calls out that response for what it's been proven to be: "a lie."
"I wanted so deeply for Lisa Baird to stand up and say 'I'm sorry. I didn't do enough,'" Morgan said in the 90-minute special that aired Tuesday. "But she didn't! She said she was shocked and disgusted, and that was surprising because that was a lie."
One of the players who accused Riley of sexual harassment and emotional manipulation while playing under him for the Portland Thorns — Mana Shim — had emailed executives at the club in 2015 with detailed accusations regarding the coach. Though the Thorns parted ways with Riley shortly thereafter, Portland leadership did not publicly disclose the reason for his firing and subsequently offered him an endorsement that led to his hiring at a different club within the league.
Years later, Shim and Sinead Farrelly — another former Thorns player Riley is accused of abusing — came together to realize the magnitude of his misconduct and decided to act, especially considering Riley could have abused others on his new team. They reached out directly to Baird with detailed accusations and a request to reopen investigations into his conduct.
The commissioner — who had not been with the league at the time of the initial allegations against Riley — replied, notifying the pair that "the initial complaint was investigated to conclusion" and that she could not "share any additional details."
So when she feigned feeling "shocked and disgusted" in a statement on September 30, 2021, Morgan decided to go public with the truth.
"The league was informed of these allegations multiple times and refused multiple times to investigate the allegations," Morgan tweeted to her millions of followers. "The league must accept responsibility for a process that failed to protect its own players from this abuse."
Then, she shared copies of Farrelly's email correspondence with Baird from April of that same year.
Still, Baird — who granted ESPN an interview for "Truth Be Told: The Fight for Women's Professional Soccer" — alleged that she had done nothing wrong.
"If something was brought to me, I followed up on it," Baird insisted.
Fans can watch the entire documentary on ESPN and read Linehan's bombshell report with a subscription to The Athletic.