CHICAGO, IL–On Monday, the National Women’s Soccer League issued what it called ‘Corrective Actions’ against several individuals and clubs in response to the findings of the Joint investigative Report and the Yates Report. The former issued on December 14th found that the failures across the league and U.S. Soccer were largely systemic in nature and made recommendations on several forward-looking and structural reforms to improve the league’s policies and practices.
Penalties were assigned on a tier system for both individuals and clubs with Level 1 being the most severe. As it relates to individuals, that means a lifetime ban from the league. Those penalties were levied to former North Carolina Courage and Portland Thorns coach Paul Riley, former Chicago Red Stars coach Rory Dames, former Racing Louisville coach Christy Holly, and former Washington Spirit coach Richie Burke. All four were considered the worst of the offenders in both reports for harassment, abusive behavior, and inappropriate conduct towards players.
Two individuals received Level 2 punishment or two-year bans. They include former Red Stars assistant and Utah Royals head coach Craig Harrington and former Red Stars and Gotham FC general manager Alyse LaHue. Harrington was charged with abusive conduct at Utah while LaHue made unwanted sexual advances towards a player while at Gotham FC. Both are eligible for reinstatement on January 9th, 2025 conditioned on the following factors being established to the satisfaction of the Commissioner in her complete discretion: acknowledging wrongdoing and accepting personal responsibility for inappropriate conduct, participating in training, and demonstrating a sincere commitment to correcting behavior.
Six individuals received Level 3 punishment for their actions where employment in the league is conditional on participating in training and demonstration of a commitment to correcting behavior.
Houston Dash coach James Clarkson and Orlando Pride coach Amanda Cromwell were suspended earlier in 2022 at the recommendation of investigators and can return to the league once they participate in training and demonstrate a commitment to correcting behavior.
Former OL Reign coach Farid Benstiti, Orlando Pride assistant coach Sam Greene, and goalkeeper coach Aline Reis were also conditioned on the same criteria as Clarkson’s and Cromwell’s. The same corrective action was also mandated for former Houston Dash coach Vera Pauw who is currently Ireland women’s team manager.
As far as club punishment goes, two teams received fines of at least one million dollars. The Red Stars received a fine of $1.5 million while Portland Thorns were fined $1.0 million. The league will work collaboratively with Red Stars majority owner Arnim Whisler and the Thorns’ Merritt Paulson to ensure that both clubs are transferred in an expeditious and appropriate manner.
Level 2 punishments were given to Racing Louisville ($200,000 fine) and North Carolina Courage ($100,000 fine) and both teams will be required to hire a sporting staff (i.e., coaches and general managers) completely distinct from the men’s teams with which they share ownership, and those respective staffs must report directly into ownership.
OL Reign and Gotham FC were handed $50,000 fines as part of Level 3 punishment. Both Washington Spirit and Kansas City Current were cited, but not penalized. The Spirit have since changed ownership and staffing resulting from the investigation on Burke. The league found that while several Kansas City Current players have raised concerns about being mistreated or retaliation upon raising those concerns, the league did not find that the club retaliated against players.
NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman released the following statement:
“The league will continue to prioritize implementing and enhancing the policies, programs and systems that put the health and safety of our players first. Those actions are fundamental to the future of our league, especially as we build a league that strengthens our players’ ability to succeed and prosper on and off the pitch. As part of our commitment to accountability and deterrence, the league has determined that further corrective action with respect to certain organizations and individuals identified in the Joint Investigative Report is appropriate and necessary.
“The league and its clubs have taken meaningful steps to begin this structural reform, and understand and accept the continual commitment to enhancing league standards that are necessary to build a safe and positive environment for our players, staff, fans and partners. The Board of Governors hired me with the very specific mandate to effectuate this transformation. These changes will require leadership, accountability, funding and a willingness to embrace this new way of conducting business. Our league and clubs are committed to making these changes and will do so with continued input from the NWSL Players Association to make the NWSL a league that sets the standard for the future of sports. I look forward to sharing more about our progress on our efforts ahead of our 2023 season.”
