While much of the sexual misconduct she described took place when Simon and Holly were alone, Simon confided in her friend and teammate, Brooke Hendrix, who spoke to the Joint Investigative Team and shared what Simon told her about some of Holly's abuse as it was occurring. Having opportunities to hang with others or time for self-care is important to maintain a healthy relationship. This player felt "the lines [were] blurred," and she never knew whether the invitations were inappropriate or if he "just genuinely care[d] about [her]." She recalled that her interview for the role was conducted at U.S. Soccer, by U.S. Soccer employees. .17 The group, including Thorp, went to Riley's apartment, though Thorp left shortly thereafter. An owner of a club emphasized that one of the problems with having a coach and a general manager who are the same person" was that it meant "one less channel of communication that you have" to report concerns. The same player stated that Holly would "attack" another player about her boyfriend, and Holly would tell this player that he felt like he was dating her. E. Enhance Reporting and Investigation Procedures On the eve of the Washington Post's November 2021 story on Dames's abusive conduct, in the midst of two ongoing investigations by the Joint Investigative Team and U.S. Soccer into misconduct towards players, and despite Dames having already resigned, Whisler entered into a confidential separation agreement with Dames. She specifically recalled having meetings in hotel rooms alone with two coaches and stressed that from her perspective, it is never appropriate for a male coach to meet with a player in his hotel room with the door closed. 22, b) Leadership training and coaching could provide coaches with skills to better communicate with players and other staff, motivate players, collaborate with other staff, and resolve conflicts within the team. Because the Joint Investigative Team was not tasked with imposing discipline on individuals accused of misconduct, it expresses no opinion on whether it would be appropriate to impose discipline for conduct that would have violated a policy that did not exist when that conduct occurred. The NWSL should also encourage players to reach out to the NWSLPA for additional support and guidance in navigating reporting misconduct. Gulati asked the group to meet the next day to discuss the matter. The NWSL also announced plans to launch a new position dedicated to player safety. The NWSL should develop clear rules and guidelines addressing appropriate interactions between club staff and players to help ensure that individuals throughout the League understand and maintain appropriate boundaries that promote player safety and well-being. Hammond acknowledged that he did not follow up with Kurtz after the call to share any steps that were being taken or to see if there had been any improvement in Riley's behavior. 24, film sessions at his apartment with Shim, had dinner alone with Shim one night, sent inappropriate text messages to Shim, and deleted Shim's July email to him stating Riley's conduct was inappropriate without notifying his superiors about the email. A few weeks later, on June 12, 2018, another Red Stars player emailed the NWSL HR office to file a complaint about Dames and Whisler. Third, Dames made personal insults, and the summary stated, these comments in a professional environment are concerning." 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. From the early days of the League, they were told to be grateful, loyal, and acquiescent, even as they were not afforded the resources or respect due to professional athletes. Dames was not the only coach who resorted to critiques of players' parental status: a player described Riley "berating [one player]" through an entire game and blaming the loss on her infant son." The phrase 'using personal information against you' appears to be a catch-all phrase used by players to capture conduct by Dames that was perceived as being mean toward players on a personal level." The reasons for Alyse LaHue's termination as NJ/NY Gotham FC general manager in July 2021 are also now clear following 1 years of silence from the club on the issue. Regarding Gothams announcement of LaHues termination, the report states that although the club did specify that she had violated League policy, it did not specify that she violated the Leagues prohibition of harassment. 48, lack of information sharing deterred players from speaking out and left players with the impression that Dames's conduct was appropriate. 7. In written responses to questions posed by U.S. Soccer and provided to the Joint Investigative Team, Flynn Accordingly, she cooperated in the first, second, and third investigations into alleged conduct from April 2020 reported in June 2021. The Joint Investigative Team also did not find any evidence that Levine provided information about Riley in response to the Courage's due diligence requests for information, or that she shared information about the 2015 investigation with the Courage. The Spirit's handbook stated that "all employees and contractors are required to receive and acknowledge receipt of the NWSL Anti-Harassment Policy for a Safe Work Environment. It should also provide examples of the types of personal attacks or degradation of players that are prohibited by the Anti-Harassment Policy. F. Williams reported that he had a good relationship with this player during the season. One interviewee reported that some clubs that had HR departments historically [could not] use them because of the single-entity structure [of the NWSL]." There were also multiple process failures during the USSF Dames Investigation, which left notable gaps in its fact-finding. Soccer." 66, also reported instances where clubs responded to player and fan conduct in a way that reflected insensitivity to LGBTQIA+ issues. . In a public tweet the day of Holly's departure, the club wrote, "You were always an amazing asset to Sky Blue FC, and words cannot ever express how much we appreciate everything that you did for us." First, the 2015 investigation conducted by the Thorns had several shortcomings. Harrington then stated that the player may have contacted him via WhatsApp or may have just flagged [him] down" in the hotel lobby. The HR employee told the Joint Investigative Team that Levine conveyed that the matter was under control, had been investigated, and that Riley had been "cleared." Then, in the spring of 2022, came additional complaints and concerns that Clarkson would retaliate against players since he was aware of an investigation into him, which led to his suspension. The Dash blamed coronavirus protocols, and Clarkson did not ask security to look into it. A third player stated that Lines "often encourage[d] hard fouls in training, which created a dangerous and toxic team culture during training. However, Baird had received and reviewed Shim's complaint to the NWSL in March 2021, to which Shim attached her September 2015 complaint detailing sexual misconduct by Riley. 120 Paulson said that he did not recall speaking with Malik about Riley when the Courage were vetting Riley, though he said he spoke with Amanda Duffy, then the NWSL's Managing Director of Operations, and told her to make sure the Courage were aware of Riley's prior misconduct. Players Experienced an Array of Interpersonal Misconduct and Reports of That Misconduct Were Mishandled. Players reported in the USSF Dames Investigation that the dinners were inappropriate, in part because Dames's open favoritism had a negative impact on the team dynamic. Coordinate with Clubs and U.S. Soccer to Improve and Centralize Hiring Practices 2. On November 23, 2021, the NWSL established additional temporary protocols" for hires of "key personnel." Kurtz earned playing time while a more senior member of the Courage was competing with the USWNT, and she recalled Riley encouraging her with the news that Jill Ellis, then-Head Coach of the USWNT, was considering her for a spot on the team. After that night, Riley continued to make inappropriate advances towards Shim. Many players who spoke with the Joint Investigative Team were not aware that they could report concerns about misconduct to SafeSport. As a result, multiple players and staff members credibly expressed fear of severe consequences for their participation in the March Investigation and the subsequent retaliation investigation if they spoke negatively about the coaching staff, or if they were not bought in. Even following the League's adoption of an Anti-Harassment Policy, players faced inconsistent policies at the club and NWSL levels governing conduct by NWSL stakeholders. On one occasion, Dames called her into his office in the presence of his two assistant coaches and said that the two assistant coaches had told him she "had a really bad attitude" and was a bad teammate. Together with favorable comments Paulson and Wilkinson made about Riley, this reinforced the impression formed by the Flash and the Courage that Riley had not engaged in misconduct when employed by the Thorns. The email included, without any explanation, a conclusion that the investigation did not reveal any "unlawful harassment." According to the staff member, Predmore said the Benstiti weight-shaming issue was a cultural thing and that he "worked on it." O'Connor reported that Holly could not explain when asked about sending inappropriate text messages to Simon. Paulson also told the Joint Investigative Team that Riley and Lines had a long-standing relationship," and at the time The Current's employee handbook states that employees "should not be employed in positions with supervisory responsibilities over the work of any family member or other person with whom the employee has a romantic or similarly close relationship," but it does not clarify if this applies only to relationships between club employees, or whether it also applies to relationships between club employees and players, who are NWSL employees. The club then released a statement that did not disclose the reason for Benstiti's departure. However, many players were troubled by the way the Dash handled the situation. When Riley was Farrelly's coach prior to the NWSL, he coerced Farrelly into having sexual intercourse on several occasions. Upon reading the article regarding Riley in The Athletic, Kurtz recognized many of her own experiences with Riley in the accounts of Shim and Farrelly, identified his conduct towards her as abusive, and realized that he had been grooming her for sexual abuse. even if the relationship . She asked him to remain professional going forward. Harrington denied each of these reports, but the Joint Investigative Team did not find his denials to be credible when viewed against the accounts of multiple other witnesses. For example, in 2018, the owner of one club learned of a relationship between a staff member and a player. Washington Spirit Whisler acknowledged to the Joint Investigative Team that he had spoken to Dames and the players involved in the complaint because he felt it was necessary to address the issues they raised. As the report states, there is a clear lack of guidance provided to players regarding what constitutes misconduct. The calendar crisis explained. Seven days after the investigation began, Garcia completed a final investigative report, dated September 23, 2015, which was reviewed by attorneys from the law firm retained by the Thorns. Mishandling of Rory Dames's Misconduct by U.S. Soccer, the NWSL, and the Chicago Red Stars Two other players said that Harrington told a player he wondered what her hair looks like when she gets out of the shower. It acknowledged that the League had a "need to know," and that an "allegation that a head coach has acted inappropriately toward a player is obviously of concern to the League." New Jersey Alyse LaHue has brought real change to Sky Blue FC. The NWSL should establish and enforce a policy that provides clear guidance to clubs on their use of non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements in circumstances involving alleged or substantiated misconduct under the Anti-Harassment Policy.
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