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Around this time, a Racing Louisville staff member raised concerns that Holly was romantically involved with another staff member at Racing Louisville and that this alleged relationship negatively impacted the team environment. WUSA enjoyed initial success, with all-star lineups, television exposure, and high attendance at games. The statement also claimed that investigators provided Ms. LaHue a few documents that contained alterations. Following this discussion, Kurtz recalled having a telephone call with Hammond to discuss her request. One player recalled that Riley hosted a similar trip for Flash players at his Long Island property when he later coached that club. Whether or not players specifically described this particular issue as significant, the report should have independently assessed the facts provided by the players. 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. Provide Mandatory Annual Anti-Harassment Training Getting a massage." Since the announcement of the NWSL and NWSLPA Joint Investigation, the NWSL has undertaken significant efforts to correct the systemic failures that allowed misconduct to proliferate. In the USSF Dames Report, Whisler explained Dames's behavior towards players as "a stress moment," and argued that Dames's yelling was "not derisive or demeaning, it's frustration." Predmore responded that the club's "primary objective was "to remove [Benstiti] from the role as quickly as possible" and the question of resignation or termination was an important, but secondary concern." When asked about his comment, Burke claimed that he was not making light of the incident, but rather that he was upset about it. Those findings will remain confidential and the league will not comment further on individual club personnel matters.. 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. Following Clarkson's suspension, the Joint Investigative Team interviewed 19 additional current and former Dash players and staff, including Clarkson. Duffy similarly stated that she did not recall why Levine sent her the report at that time. The NWSL should store all documents, including a written record of the investigation, in a central location. Levine told the HR employee not to worry about the email from Farrelly because a third party had already investigated the allegations and found no fault, and Riley had been hired by another club following the investigation. Listen to Alyse's thoughts on why women's soccer is on the rise the United States, the story behind re-branding Sky Blue FC's to NJ/NY Gotham FC, and how Alyse is leveraging the power of Gotham's fans to inform th During her tenure as NWSL president, Amanda Duffy was made aware of, but failed to act on, Shim's 2015 complaint against Riley and the subsequent investigation conducted by the Thorns. Clubs Moved Coaches Accused of Misconduct to Other Roles After Benstiti's hiring, Predmore instructed Benstiti not to discuss player weight or nutrition" with players, and "specifically forbade him from talking about "anything related to food." On October 10, 2022, the NWSL publicly announced that the Joint Investigative Team found that Cromwell and Greene engaged in retaliation and attempted retaliation, in violation of NWSL policy, against Pride players whom Cromwell and Greene believed had made or supported earlier misconduct allegations against them, and that Reis violated NWSL policy by not fully cooperating with the retaliation investigation. The player said she did not report Burke's abusive behavior to Baldwin because she "figured he'd go to [Burke] and [she would] get waived during the season." They told O'Connor that they would really appreciate if this was kept confidential." U.S. Soccer's 2019 Consideration of Riley for U.S. Women's National Team Coach . coach, and Alyse LaHue, the former general manager of Gotham F.C., each received two-year suspensions from the league. To address these concerns, the League has recently taken steps to create more effective reporting channels, including by setting up an anonymous hotline and listing reporting channels in the 2022 Anti-Harassment Policy. One player reported that club staff living in the same housing as players led to unprofessional interactions. Upon reading the accounts of Shim and Farrelly, Kaleigh Kurtz recognized many of her own experiences with Riley. As noted above, Riley called Mana Shim "hot" and "sexy." The Joint Investigative Team requested interviews of 11 current and former U.S. Soccer staff. Offensive and Insensitive Behavior Related to Sexual Orientation He stated that the club sought to address Simon's concerns through the severance agreement, including by securing Holly's removal from his apartment in a complex shared by Simon and requiring that Holly not disparage players or the club. She also feared Holly would ruin her career. These measures may help increase diversity in the NWSL coaching ranks. Recommendations The NWSL should establish rules prohibiting an individual from occupying more than one of the following positions at a club: principal owner, general manager, and head coach. According to multiple interviewees, Clarkson did not allow the players to address the accusation that they had been drinking and told them, Cameras don't lie." The documents should be kept confidential and shared only with individuals who need them to investigate and make determinations regarding investigation outcomes and discipline. On the other hand, some thought Clarkson handled the situation well and reported that he later expressed his support and apologized if he had appeared insensitive. He remained with the Flash until the club was sold in 2017. NEW YORK Sky Blue FC has restructured its leadership, announcing Wednesday the arrival of a new minority owner in Ed Nalbandian and a new role for Tammy Murphy, the New Jersey First Lady. Players from marginalized backgrounds, or with the least job security, were often targets of misconduct. . Players also reported that Burke continued to yell at a player during a game when she was experiencing a panic attack on the field. One former player reported that at the Utah Royals home stadium, fans called players names "based off race and sexual orientation, and players did not want to play in Utah as a result. Paul Riley joined the NWSL in December 2013, when the Thorns hired him as head coach for the club's 2014 season. As Press told The Washington Post, this Those discussions should be focused on how to improve the player's performance and should not include any jokes, insults, or other unconstructive comments about players' weight, appearance, or eating habits. The Joint Investigative Team spoke to other players on the Red Stars who reported similar concerns of retaliation. When asked whether she could have compelled Chicago Red Stars owner Arnim Whisler to obey a League instruction not to speak with players in relation to an investigation, former U.S. Soccer and NWSL General Counsel Lisa Levine stated that the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors-of which Whisler was a member at the time-had shown that it was not inclined to act to discipline clubs. The subjective experience is important to consider when assessing whether conduct rises to the level of emotional misconduct. The latest investigation ("the joint investigation") acknowledges and reiterates the Yates report's detailing of misconduct by former Portland Thorns, Western New York Flash and North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley; former Washington Spirit coach Richie Burke; and former Sky Blue FC and Racing Louisville coach Christy Holly. Despite learning this information, investigators and individuals kept apprised of the investigation, including the Thorns and Levine, did not probe further by interviewing other witnesses, requesting additional text messages or emails, or asking Riley about his relationship with Farrelly, among other things. Simon reported that Holly first engaged in sexual misconduct toward her in the summer of 2019. And Levine, in spite of having been kept apprised of the Thorns's investigation in 2015 and having read the investigative report, did not take Shim's and Farrelly's 2021 complaints to the NWSL regarding Riley seriously; in fact, Levine drafted responses on which Baird-who had no prior familiarity with the 2015 investigation-relied to respond to Shim and Farrelly and essentially decline to inquire into Riley further. Starr recalled that the NWSL volunteer chaplain coordinator "didn't know what to do," and had never navigated a similar report of abuse. According to one former Sky Blue player, Holly told a player in the weight room that when he saw her squat, he wanted to grab her ass. He also asked this player if she preferred boxers or briefs. It does not appear that the investigator affirmatively asked players if this incident had occurred in an attempt to corroborate the allegation. It's not just this team. The actions of League and U.S. Soccer personnel-from the League's founding, through its years under U.S. Soccer management, to the present-demonstrate that misconduct does not announce itself, but requires proactive prevention and detection. Novo said club leadership told him to give Holly "the opportunity to step away if he wants to." These fears were not unfounded. According to Novo, after his meeting with the players, he took the concerns to the club's ownership and asked if the club could let Holly go. The findings included information on what led to the firing of former Sky Blue/Gotham FC General Manager Alyse LaHue in July 2021. As a result, the creation and enforcement of policies and in some cases, investigations and the communication of their findings-fell through the cracks. In that interview, Farrelly did not discuss, and Garcia did not ask, about Riley's other misconduct towards her, which was not uncovered until later. Players also lacked uniform trainings addressing how to identify and respond to inappropriate conduct. Facilitate Information Sharing Among Clubs Regarding Findings of Misconduct The details could go too many different directions to even speculate. Washington Spirit Gotham FC general manager Alyse LaHue was fired by the team earlier this month on July 9, the club announced Friday. When Riley was head coach of the Thorns, after a night out drinking alcohol with Thorns players, Riley brought Shim and Farrelly to his apartment, made additional alcohol available, tried to grind" against Shim, and told Farrelly and Shim that if they kissed each other, the team would not have to run an intensive fitness drill that week. 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. . 7. Sky Blue and NJ/NY Gotham And as discussed above, in some cases, Riley's practice of holding meetings in hotel rooms did in fact lead to boundary-crossing interactions with Shim. U.S. Soccer's failure to exercise its power as manager in this regard contributed to widespread confusion across the League, clubs, and players, as to which entity was tasked with preventing and addressing misconduct. For instance, Stanton recalled Holly asking her to come to his hotel room to review film one-on-one on two to three occasions. Even in Vancouver, Riley pushed Shim to stay the night with him. A majority of the players who participated in the investigation raised the concern that "Dames would get close to players, learn personal information about them, and then use the information he gained . Novo could not recall the date of this meeting. However, Gulati told the Joint Investigative Team that he did not tell Dorrance anything about the 2015 allegations or investigation of Riley. Greene also made comments to staff members about reporting, including that she was going to find out who started the March Investigation and "get to the bottom of it," and that staff members should bring issues to the coaching staff, rather than club management. Farrelly sat on Riley's lap, though she felt strange doing so, and she described that Riley grabbed her hips. The report, however, acknowledges that "a majority of players expressed the view that Clarkson's treatment of players did not rise to the level of abuse or misconduct. However, the club did not share enough information about the reason for Holly's termination, leaving both players and the public uncertain about why he was fired. Previously, Alyse spend five years as the GM of the Chicago Red Stars. As discussed above, after U.S. Soccer directed the League to hand over its investigation into Dames, the League was not briefed on the findings. She felt that this behavior was The morale around the club seems higher than ever and fans are once again excited to get back into the seats of Yurcak Field. trent farmer wants a wife,