When U.S. Soccer commissioned an investigation by King & Spalding LLP partner Sally Yates and the results revealed widespread, “systemic abuse and misconduct” across the NWSL and women’s soccer as a whole, many of the findings felt eerily familiar. Three coaches—Paul Riley, Rory Dames and Christy Holly—had all been accused of verbal abuse and/or sexual misconduct. Officials in charge downplayed or ignored the complaints. The coaches moved from club to club freely despite reports of their behavior.
We’ve seen these scandals before in sports, and yet little is done to prevent them from repeating elsewhere.
The Yates report makes it abundantly clear that team owners, general managers and top officials in both U.S. Soccer and the NWSL had plenty of opportunities to just do the right thing. And yet, time and time again, they failed. (The NWSL and NWSL Players Association joint investigation is still underway and is expected to conclude by the end of this year.)
