US Women’s Soccer: Investigation Reveals Sexual Abuse – 10/03/2022 – Sports

An independent investigation into allegations of misconduct in U.S. women’s soccer found systemic abuse and sexual misconduct, according to a report released Monday.

Former U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates and the investigation found verbal and emotional abuse and sexual abuse, including “sexual accusations, unwanted sexual solicitation, and forced sexual contact.”

The 172-page report includes interviews with more than 200 National Women’s Soccer League players (many of whom are members of the U.S. national teams) and details abuse by coaches, manipulation and methods of retaliation against those who report problems.

“Our investigation revealed abuse and misconduct — verbal and emotional abuse and sexual abuse — became systemic, involving multiple teams, coaches and victims,” ​​Yates wrote in a summary of the report.

The report found that teams, league officials and the U.S. Soccer Federation “failed to respond adequately when confronted with player reports and evidence of misconduct” and that “while some leaders privately recognized the need, they failed to establish basic measures to prevent and address it.” For safety in the workplace.”

This allowed the wrong manager to move from one club to another with positive comments masking misconduct.

The report said members of the US Soccer Federation (USSF) and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) “remained silent” on fixing the problem. “And no one on the team, in the league or in the confederation, is asking for anything better from the coaches.”

USSF President Cindy Barlow Cohn, a former U.S. women’s national team player who began the investigation a year ago after taking office in 2020, said steps are already being taken to prevent similar violations from happening again.

“The findings of this investigation are painful and profound,” Cohn said, “and the abuse described is inexcusable and should not happen on any playground, training center or workplace.”

“US Soccer is fully committed to doing everything in its power to ensure that all players, at all levels, have a safe and respectful place to learn, grow and compete.”

In October 2021, the league was suspended after players Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim reported alleged misconduct by coach Paul Riley in a report in The Athletic.

At the time, Riley was fired by the North Carolina Braves after investigations by the players’ clubs. Another coach, Richie Burke of the Washington Spirit, was also investigated and had his license revoked.

After the episode, popular players like Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan began to criticize the managers, who did not take steps to solve the problem. Morgan blamed the NWSL’s commissioner Lisa Bird directly, who eventually resigned.

After the episode, Cindy Barlow hired the Kohn law firm for a more in-depth investigation, which led to the report released Monday.