NFL
By: Zachary Draves
There is no sugar coating and no beating around the bush because the fact is the National Women’s Soccer League, supposedly progressive, completely failed its players after it was revealed that now-former North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley had sexually assaulted and coerced a dozen players including two who went on record, Mana Shim and Sinead Farrell.
It was also revealed that the NWSL knew of the allegations and yet he still continued coaching.
Earlier this year, they even refused to act on an offer from Mana and Sinead to assist in investigating further instances of abuse by Riley.
After the players came forward to speak their truth in a lengthy article published by The Athletic, the response was swift and over the course of the Oct.1st weekend, all NWSL games were canceled and the league went into damage control culminating in the resignation of NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird. https://theathletic.com/2857633/2021/09/30/this-guy-has-a-pattern-amid-institutional-failure-former-nwsl-players-accuse-prominent-coach-of-sexual-coercion/?
It is also worth noting that this isn’t an isolated incident.
Washington Spirit Coach Richie Burke was recently fired after a Washington Post investigation revealed that he had a long history of verbally and emotionally abusing his players for which he was able to scrape by.
One of the most prominent players to come forward, in this case, was former Spirit defender Kaiya Mccullough who is one of the most dedicated athlete activists of her time on matters of racial justice.
She said that Burke used racist and bigoted language towards her and her teammates.
Other coaches including Christy Holly of Racing Louisville, Craig Harington of the Utah Royals, and Farid Benstiti of the OL Reign were all fired due to abusive behavior.
Clearly this is a huge systemic failure and its effects are staggering.
“It’s systemic in that it is not limited to a single team; there’s something rotten in the overall governance of the league” says sports journalist Jessica Luther, known for her coverage on gender-based violence in sports and co-author of the book Loving Sports When They Don’t Love You Back with Kavitha Davidson.
The outpouring of support for the players was strong with the soccer world and many of the sports’ high profile stars including Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan called for greater accountability and swift action.
The NWSLPA issued the following statement in support of the players on Twitter.
SYSTEMIC ABUSE PLAGUING THE NWSL MUST NOT BE IGNORED pic.twitter.com/WlhcWW7R8m
— NWSLPA (@nwsl_players) September 30, 2021
They also said that they were going to establish an anonymous hotline in which players would be able to report any abuse and making a certified sports psychologist available to the players for further consolation and support.
The disconnect between the players and the league itself is evident as the players have apparently no place to go to within the league to share their stories and as a result, they found refuge in the media.
Speaking of the media, it is worth noting that the coverage of this scandal has been largely scarce which speaks volumes about the coverage of women’s sports in general.
Aside from the work of journalists such as Meg Linehan and Molly Hensley-Clancy, at The Athletic and The Washington Post broke these stories and other pro-feminist sports outlets such as the Burn It All Down Podcast, The Equalizer, The IX, and Just Women’s Sports, the media response has been to portray women’s sports in a negative light.
“Plenty of media only focuses on women’s sports when they are in moments of crisis, that’s when they decide that covering them is entertainment or newsworthy” said Jessica.
“When women are just being athletes doing great things on the pitch, that is clearly a lot less interesting to the people making editorial choices about coverage in sports sections and at sports sites.”
Even as the games return, this dark cloud is not going away any time soon.
The league has issued a supposed commitment to what they call “systemic transformation” that offers the following initiatives according to their website. https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/national-womens-soccer-league-announces-commitment-to-systemic-transformation
- An independent review of practices and policies at the league and club levels — including workplace policies for each club in the league, league-mandated anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy, and processes for identifying, investigating, and enforcing violations of those policies — to identify and reform deficiencies. The league will work with the players association to ensure that the results of these team and league reviews will serve as a road map to ensure safe environments for players and staff.
- Comprehensive policies and procedures created for the league and all member clubs to ensure moving forward that there is a systematic, transparent, and effective execution of any harassment or workplace conduct issues.
- A reopening of the 2015 investigation regarding former NWSL coach Paul Riley, including a review of the circumstances surrounding his departure from the Portland Thorns FC, and his subsequent hiring by Western New York Flash and the North Carolina Courage.
- A review of the available investigative reports related to all historical complaints of discrimination, harassment, or abuse (physical, emotional, or sexual) in the NWSL, and where necessary, a reopening of the respective investigation, or the initiation of a new adjudication process.
- The continuation of ongoing investigations initiated under the NWSL’s current anti-harassment policy, and the recommendation of sanctions where appropriate
All this sounds great but it is missing something crucial, intersectionality.
As far as anybody knows, the league didn’t consult with BIPOC or LGBTQ+ players and offer a chance to sit at the table.
Chances are they didn’t engage with the Black Women’s Players Collective, a group of black NWSL players working for racial justice nor did they contact Kaiya and her organization the Anti-Racist Soccer Club.
https://twitter.com/BWP_Collective?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
https://www.antiracistsoccerclub.com/
If the NWSL really is committed to “systemic transformation” and these are the priorities that they will follow through on then they need to be working in concert with the players who come from historically marginalized communities that are disproportionately affected by sexual violence.
Otherwise, these are empty words and promises.
We must use this moment as a teaching tool for not only accountability for men abusing power but for solidarity.
Solidarity with the players who came forward and with all survivors of sexual violence.
That also means supporting organizations that look out for women and marginalized athletes including the ones listed above.
That also means supporting feminist media outlets that have continuously and tirelessly worked to use their platforms to call to account patriarchal institutions that seek to render survivors of abuse into silence.
It is time for our society to either put up or shut up.
Because as of right now we haven’t come a long way baby.
If you need help the following confidential lifelines are available
The National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-HOPE (4673)
The Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network’s (RAINN) national hotline will connect you with a RAINN affiliate who will then put you in contact with your local sexual assault crisis center.
National Sexual Assault Hotline Online Chat
RAINN offers an online chat support service that you can also use to chat live with a trained advocate. Before you use the, it is important to make sure that you are in a safe place. If you feel like your online activity is being monitored, consider another option and learn more about how you can stay safe online.
