The National Women’s Soccer League is reopening the investigation into former North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley it conducted in 2015.
The league announced that move Sunday, along with a host of other structural changes to its governance in light of an abuse scandal that caused Riley’s firing by the Courage on Thursday and games throughout the league to be postponed this weekend.
A report in The Athletic last week quoted two former players, Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim, saying Riley lured them into sexual relationships and socialized with his players while coaching the NWSL’s Portland Thorns and two previous teams. The owner of the Thorns told The Athletic that Riley was fired in 2015 in part because of the accusations against him.
Riley coached the Portland Thorns in 2014 and 2015 before being fired. The Western New York Flash hired him in 2016 and, after Stephen Malik purchased the team in 2017, it moved to Cary where it became the NC Courage with Riley staying on as coach.
The NWSL said the investigation is being reopened now to examine his departure from Portland and his subsequent hiring by the Flash and the Courage.
Last April, Farrelly sent an email to Lisa Baird, then the NWSL commissioner, saying she “not only witnessed but experienced firsthand extremely inappropriate conduct by Mr. Riley.”
Baird responded by pointing to the league’s 2015 investigation into Riley and saying the investigation “reached its conclusion.”
When the Courage fired Riley on Thursday, citing “very serious allegations of misconduct,” Baird released a statement saying she was “shocked and disgusted to read the new allegations reported in The Athletic this morning.”
U.S. Women’s National team player Alex Morgan, currently with the NWSL’s Orlando Pride, then released copies of Farrelly’s emails to and from Baird in April, saying the allegations weren’t new to Baird. Morgan made the emails public via Twitter, where she has 3.8 million followers.
Baird resigned as commissioner and the league, along with the NWSL Players Association, decided to postpone all games scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
On Sunday, the league announced the formation of an executive committee to oversee the league’s front office operations that includes club executives Amanda Duffy (Orlando Pride), Angie Long (Kansas City NWSL), and Sophie Sauvage (OL Reign).
Duffy is an North Carolina native who played college soccer at East Carolina from 1998-2003 before also coaching at the school.
“On behalf of the entire league, we are heartbroken for what far too many players have had to endure in order to simply play the game they love, and we are so incredibly sorry,” the three executive committee members said in a statement released by the NWSL. “We understand that we must undertake a significant systemic and cultural transformation to address the issues required to become the type of league that NWSL players and their fans deserve and regain the trust of both. We’re committed to doing just that and recognize that this won’t happen overnight, but only through vigilance over time.”
The league also announced it has hired Covington & Burling, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm, to oversee investigations and make recommendations for reforms.
Amanda Kramer, former Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, will lead the firm’s team and will report directly to Duffy, Long and Sauvage.
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