N.W.S.L. and Players’ Union Say Athletes Fearful of Reporting Abuse

The first investigative report about the league, made public in October, was compiled on behalf of the U.S. Soccer Federation by Sally Q. Yates, a former deputy attorney general. It detailed some of the systematic abuse, including sexual and psychological abuse, that occurred in a league that lacked oversight, player protections and, in many ways, professionalism.

The latest report included information gleaned through about 219 interviews with current and former league players, players’ union leaders, club staff members, league leadership and staff, and U.S. Soccer personnel, the report said.

Both reports collected evidence of a toxic culture with similarities to a longstanding environment of abuse found in the sport of gymnastics, where athletes felt so intimidated by their coaches that Lawrence G. Nassar, a U.S. national team doctor, was able to maneuver to abuse hundreds of girls and women. Coaches in the N.W.S.L. used their power over players to abuse them, the report said, knowing that they would remain silent because the players were so afraid of being replaced or somehow causing the unstable league to fold.

And even if the players had wanted to speak out, the N.W.S.L. didn’t provide players a safe, trusted place to report misconduct anyway, the league’s report concluded.

In Kurtz’s case, her abuse would less likely have happened if team and league executives had been transparent about Riley’s firing from the Thorns in 2015 for sexual misconduct. That lack of transparency, the report said, let Riley prey on other players, including Kurtz, who only came forward to team management in 2021 after The Athletic published a story about Riley’s sexual misconduct while at the Thorns.

In Wednesday’s report, Kurtz said she agreed to be named because she trusted that the league would protect her, and wanted to help other players.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/14/sports/soccer/nwsl-abuse-report.html