National Women's Soccer League players allege institutional failure following sexual coercion allegations against prominent coach
- The National Women's Soccer League fired coach Paul Riley on Thursday following player allegations of misconduct.
- Hours after the report, a group of players accused the league of institutional failure in handling Riley.
- The players released a statement demanding an indpendent investigation.
A group of US women's soccer players accused the National Women's Soccer League of institutional failure to address abusive behavior on Thursday, hours after a report from The Athletic detailed accusations of sexual coercion and inappropriate comments against two-time Coach of the Year Paul Riley.
The NWSL and North Carolina Courage - the club where Riley has coached since 2017 - released a statement following the report announcing Riley's termination.
NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird announced the league would conduct an investigation into the allegations against Riley, which include incidents of sexual harassment, intimidation, misconduct, and comments about players' weight and sexual orientation.
In The Athletic piece - which was written by women's soccer reporter Meg Linehan - NWSL players Sinead Farrelly and Meleana "Mana" Shim described instances of inappropriate behavior from Riley while they played on his teams.
Two-time World Cup champion Alex Morgan, who previously played under Riley with the Portland Thorns, confirmed having previous knowledge of their stories and told the outlet that she tried to help them report Riley's behavior to the league.
Following Baird's statement, Morgan tweeted screenshots of emails sent to the league discussing players' accusations against Riley.
"The league was informed of these allegations multiple times and refused multiple times to investigate the allegations," Morgan said on Twitter. "The league must accept responsibility for a process that failed to protect its own players from abuse."
On Thursday, the NWSL Players Association released a statement demanding an independent investigation into the matter. The players also demanded that any staff accused of violating the league's anti-harassment policy that was put in place last spring be suspended, and asked the league to explain how Riley was re-hired following a past investigation into abusive coaching allegation.
"The NWSL has failed us," the players said. "We are taking our power back."
The US Soccer Federation - the governing body for the US Men's and Women's National Teams - released a statement of its own following news of Riley's conduct and subsquent firing. The organization wrote that its leadership was "deeply disturbed" by the disgraced coach's behavior, which "is repulsive, unacceptable, and has zero place in soccer or society."
US Soccer then announced it had terminated the 57-year-old's coaching license.
Linehan's bombshell report about Riley - and the players' strong response to the news - comes amidst an avalanche of controversy across the NWSL. Last year, the now-defunct Utah Royals were forced to fold after franchise owner Dell Loy Hansen was dubbed "Donald Sterling part two" due to his racist and sexist behavior.
In July of this year, Gotham FC general manager Alyse LaHue was found to have violated the league's anti-harassment policy. A month later, the Washington Spirit lost an assistant coach because he made inappropriate comments to players at a party. Shortly thereafter, the DC-based club's head coach, Richie Burke, was fired for verbally and emotionally abusing players.
While Riley's purported malfeasance was more than enough to justify the NWSLPA's calls for action, the compounded instances of abuse across the league surely informed Thursday's outrage from players and fans alike. What comes next remains to be seen. But as women's soccer's biggest names - including Morgan and Megan Rapinoe - offer their platforms to call for reform and accountability, the league is facing mounting pressure to address its lack of timely action.