League of Adversaries – Sport – Kommersant

An independent investigation commissioned by the United States Football Federation (USSF) found that athletes from several clubs in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) were systematically subjected to emotional and verbal abuse, as well as sexual harassment by their coaches. This trial was initiated after a high-profile scandalous story involving North Carolina head coach Paul Riley. Last fall, he lost his position: then it turned out that Riley had forced sex on his wards for a decade, insulted them and made obscene jokes about them, but, nevertheless, remained to work in top teams.

AP published the results of an independent investigation organized at the initiative of the US Football Federation, the main topic of which was various kinds of abuse in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). The almost 200-page report reveals that American club athletes were “systematically” subjected to abuse, verbal abuse, emotional abuse and sexual harassment by coaches. The victims were players not only of adults, but also of youth teams.

The report notes another problem. The management of the clubs, the NWSL and the football federation, although they received complaints from the players, ignored them, and also did not take the necessary measures to further protect the athletes from abuse.

“Coaches, having received positive recommendations from clubs, moved from team to team, and NWSL and USSF staff who were able to correct the situation remained silent,” the report says.

The trigger for the trial was the case involving one of the most successful women’s football coaches, former North Carolina coach Paul Riley. He has two NWSL Championship titles and two Coach of the Year titles to his credit. In addition, his candidacy was considered as a possible option for the post of head coach of the US women’s national team.

A year ago The Athletic, which organized its own investigation, released information that since 2010, Riley behaved inappropriately towards the players. So, Sinead Farelli (she played for the Philadelphia Independence, New York Furies and Portland Thorns) recalled episodes when Riley forced her to have sex and forced her to kiss another football player in his apartment. Former wards of the coach, whose names remained secret, told that Riley insulted them, joked about their excess weight and sexual orientation.

Although Riley denied all charges, he was fired from North Carolina almost immediately, and the National Women’s Football League revoked his coaching license.

Then it turned out that the story with Riley is by no means the only one in the NWSL.

Over the past season, the report says, five out of ten head coaches in the women’s soccer league lost their jobs for “reasons unrelated to sports,” that is, for misbehavior. It has not always had a sexual component: for example, Richie Burke of the Washington Spirits was suspended for insulting and racist remarks about players.

This report provides a long list of possible measures that the authors believe could make a difference in American women’s football. For example, it is proposed to conduct regular surveys of female football players in order to obtain feedback from them and further provide results to the USSF, as well as to attract specialists to work in the football federation and the American Women’s League who will monitor the safety of players.

Ekaterina Remizova