To punish these “continuous reprehensible acts”, verified after 14 months of examination of players complaints, the North American League for Women’s Football took unprecedented sanctions following failures which it considered systemic.
MO12345lemonde with AFP
The North American League for Women’s Football (NWSL) announced on Monday that it has banned four coaches accused of sexual assault on players, one month after having made its investigation report on violence and mistreatment committed for several years.
The complainants were also victims of manipulation, bullying and reprisals, as well as the guilty passivity and inaction of owners and managers of a certain number of clubs according to the document. The national body, led by Commissioner Jessica Berman, then imposed a whole series of sanctions . The most severe, due to their final character, were inflicted on Paul Riley, Christy Holly, Rory Dames and Richie Burke, all banished for life of the NWSL.
Riley, a former Portland Thorns coach, was accused by two players of having forced the first to sexual sex and of having sexually harassed the second. It is the subject of a separate investigation by the American Football Federation (US Soccer) carried out by the former general prosecutor of the United States, Sally Yates.
Holly, who led Racing Louisville, was dismissed after being accused of sexual assault and touching on a player. Ladies, ex-coach of the Red Stars of Chicago has also been the subject of a meticulous examination in the Yates report, which detailed his propensity to verbally attack, insults in support, the players, and to threaten them.
Finally, Burke, who was at the head of the Washington Spirit, was used to verbally stigmatizing the ethnicity of players.
a targeted French coach
Craig Harrington, ex-assistant coach for Chicago Red Stars and Alyse Lahue, former general manager of Gotham FC, were suspended two years of any function related to the NWSL.
nwslpa stament in responsibility to the nwsl’s Corrective action anxance: https://t.co/bm5nts8dyv
Six other people, including French Farid Benstiti, former OL Reign coach (2020-2021) targeted for comments on the overweight of a player, will have to prove themselves before finding a job within the league. They will have to “recognize their wrongs and assume their responsibility for inappropriate conduct, participate in training and demonstrate a sincere commitment to correct their behavior”.
The Red Stars of Chicago and the Portland Thorns will each have to pay a fine of 1.5 million and a million dollars, for their attitude in these cases, ranging from negligence in the face of acts committed to their will to hide them.
Finally, having established during his investigation, jointly conducted with the union of players, systemic failures occurring within it as within the American Federation, the League inflicted on its own office “a fine of at least a million dollars “and has promised that it would be the subject of a complete reshuffle.