NWSL postpones games after coach accused of misconduct; commissioner ousted

Officials with the National Women’s Soccer League announced Friday that they have postponed five games scheduled for the weekend amid ongoing fallout from allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against a former coach.

>> Read more trending news

North Carolina Courage head coach Paul Riley was fired Thursday after The Athletic detailed allegations against him, which included claims that he coerced a player into a sexual relationship, according to The New York Times. Riley denied the allegations to The Athletic.

Update 7:53 p.m. EDT Oct. 1: National Women’s Soccer League Commissioner Lisa Baird is out after allegations surfaced that a former coach engaged in sexual harassment and misconduct toward players, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the move Friday had not been made public.

Update 7:48 p.m. EDT Oct. 1: U.S Soccer said it also will launch an independent investigation into the allegations. Meanwhile, The Associated Press, citing an anonymous source, reported that Lisa Baird is out as commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League.

“Player safety and respect is the paramount responsibility of every person involved in this game,” Cindy Cone, president of U.S. Soccer, said in a statement. “That is true across every age, competition and ability level. “We owe it to each athlete, each fan and the entire soccer community to take every meaningful action in our power to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.”

Update 6:22 p.m. EDT Oct. 1: The judicial bodies for soccer’s governing agency opened an investigation into the sexual harassment scandal, according to The Associated Press.

FIFA told the AP it was “deeply concerned” by the case and will be seeking further details from U.S. soccer authorities.

“Due to the severity and seriousness of the allegations being made by players, we can confirm that FIFA’s judicial bodies are actively looking into the matter and have opened a preliminary investigation,” FIFA said in a statement to the AP. “As part of this, FIFA will be reaching out to the respective parties, including US Soccer and NWSL, for further information about the various safeguarding concerns and allegations of abuse that have been raised.”

Original report: The firing was the second of a head coach this week after an investigation into the Washington Spirit ended Tuesday with the dismissal of Richie Burke. He had been accused of verbal and emotional abuse, according to The Washington Post. The newspaper reported that in all, four NWSL teams have seen their male coaches leave amid allegations of misconduct this summer.

“This week, and much of this season, has been incredibly traumatic for our players and staff, and I take full responsibility for the role I have played,” NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird said in a statement. “Recognizing that trauma, we have decided not to take the field this weekend to give everyone some space to reflect.”

Baird said the decision was made in collaboration with the NWSL Players’ Association. The union said in a statement that it asked for the games to be postponed “to give players space to process this pain.”

“Business as usual isn’t our concern right now,” Baird said Friday. “Our entire league has a great deal of healing to do, and our players deserve so much better.”

The NWSL Players’ Association has called for an independent investigation of the allegations leveled at Riley. The union also demanded the suspension of any league or club staff who have been accused of violating the league’s antiharassment policy or of failing to report misconduct, no matter when it occurred.

“We refuse to be silent any longer. Our commitment as players is to speak truth to power,” the union said. “We will no longer be complicit in a culture of silence that has enabled abuse and exploitation in our league and in our sport.”

The postponed matches included two scheduled for Friday, when Washington was set to face North Carolina and Gotham FC was set to face Racing Louisville FC, according to ESPN. They also included three matches set for Saturday, when the Orlando Pride was set to play the Chicago Red Stars, the Houston Dash would play Kansas City and OL Reign was scheduled to play the Portland Thorns FC, ESPN reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

©2021 Cox Media Group