Paul Riley will never coach or work in the NWSL again. (Photo by Diego Diaz/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images).
The NWSL on Monday formally imposed sanctions against several teams, individuals and organizations following a months-long investigation that uncovered “widespread misconduct” in and around the league.
Among the punishments handed out, Commissioner Jessica Bartman announced that four former coaches will be permanently banned from the league: former Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley, former Racing Louisville coach Christy Holly, former Chicago Red Stars coach Rory Dames and Washington Spirit coach. Richie Burke.
“The league will continue to prioritize implementing and improving policies, programs and systems that put the health and safety of our players first,” Bartman said in a statement. “These actions are critical to the future of our league, especially as we build a league that strengthens our players’ ability to thrive and succeed on and off the field. As part of our commitment to accountability and deterrence, the league has determined that further corrective action will be taken by certain organizations identified in the Joint Investigation Report. and persons are relevant and necessary.
The league imposed penalties based on a three-tiered structure based on: “the seriousness of the misconduct that occurred, whether those in a position of authority knew or should have known of the misconduct, the degree or repetition of the misconduct, evidence of retaliatory conduct, the proximate nature of the conduct or activity to the present, and actions that failed to communicate the misconduct to others.”
Riley, Holly, Dames and Burke were all given level one sanctions, permanently banning them from working for the league. Riley was the focus of a 2021 article in The Athletic that detailed abuse throughout the NWSL, but all four were named repeatedly in a 125-page NWSL report in December.
A further eight individuals were sanctioned, two of which included two-year bans. Former Utah Royals FC coach Craig Harrington and former Gotham FC general manager Alyse LaHue must meet certain requirements after their 2025 suspension expires. According to a statement from the NWSL, that includes “admitting the violations and taking personal responsibility for the inappropriate behavior, participating in training and making a sincere commitment to correcting the behavior.”
The other six (former OL Reign coach Farid Benstiti, former Houston Dash coaches James Clarkson and Vera Pauw, and former Orlando Pride coaches Amanda Cromwell, Sam Greene and Aline Reis) must also meet NWSL conditionalities before taking on new jobs. in the league.
U.S. Soccer, NWSL clubs and league office also fined
So the U.S. soccer and the NWSL league office were fined at least $1 million and required to make systemic changes. On the same subject : Premier League transfer newsletters: the business of the six big clubs so far, problems to be solved.
The Red Stars received the largest fine, $1.5 million. Owner Arnim Whisler plans to sell the team after the club’s board of directors ousted him as team chairman in October. The Portland Thorns were fined $1 million, previously announced by owner Merritt Paulson when he announced he would sell the team as a result of the investigation.
Racing Louisville was fined $200,000 and the North Carolina Courage was fined $100,000. Both also need to hire coaches and general managers who are “completely different from the men’s team they share with.” OL Reign and Gothan FC were fined $50,000 each.
Two teams specifically mentioned in the statement but not fined were the Spirit and the Kansas City Current. The league decided it would not impose remedial action on the Spirit because the team is under new ownership. The league also did not sanction Current because it did not find that anyone at the club had retaliated against players, although the statement said it was “concerned that several players expressed concerns about abuse or retaliation.”
