The Albany Gazette - NWSL agrees to $5 mln player mistreatment settlement

The league will create a $5 million fund to compensate players who were abused and continue comprehensive reforms to improve players safety with enforcement by state officials.

New York attorney general Letitia James, Illinois attorney general Kwame Raoul and Washington attorney general Brian Schwalb announced the settlement with the NWSL.

"For too long, the hardworking and talented women of the NWSL were forced to endure an unacceptable culture of abuse, harassment, and retaliation," James said.

"This settlement sends a clear message that such misconduct will not be tolerated and ensures players receive the compensation and protections they deserve.

"Every athlete should be able to compete in a safe, supportive environment and I thank the brave individuals who came forward to share their experiences."

NWSL players went public in 2021 with misconduct allegations and claims of abuse from coaches and officials over the prior decade, many of them reported to the league but largely ignored.

Two investigations were made into the complaints, one by the NWSL and its players union and the other by the US Soccer Federation conducted by Sally Yates, a former US deputy attorney.

Both investigations discovered league-wide systemic failures leading to sexual assault, harassment, verbal abuse, coercion and discrimination by coaches -- all without any player safety rules in place.

By the end of the 2021 campaign, five of the NWSL's 10 clubs had fired their coaches following public reports and player complaints.

That prompted the attorneys general to launch their own probe into the claims in 2022, an investigation that they said revealed a culture of abuse and neglect where coaches verbally abused and sexually assaulted players, coercing them into inappropriate relationships and retaliating against those who resisted or went public with issues.

- Fear and verbal abuse -

The investigation found some teams failed to conduct background checks on hirings, giving coaches terminated for misconduct a chance to be hired by other teams.

According to the attorneys general, the NWSL's longest-tenured coach resigned in 2021 after a sports psychologist uncovered a culture of fear and emotional and verbal abuse in his club -- conduct the NWSL had been aware of since at least 2014.

The NWSL had no formal process for reporting misconduct, leaving players uncertain where to turn for help.

The $5 million fund, administered by former US District Judge Barbara Jones, will notify players eligible to receive settlement money, with any funds unclaimed after 180 days going to the players union emergency and charitable fund.

The NWSL faces $2 million in penalties for defaulting on any terms of the settlement, which requires the league to implement league-wide policy changes to protect players.

Those include rigorous vetting of prospective coaches, general managers, athletic trainers, and player safety officers, multiple methods for players to report misconduct, banning coaches from exclusive control over player housing or medical decisions, banning teams from investigating themselves on coach misconduct and player safety issues.

Also required are the NWSL creating a safety office, each team creating a mental health and human resources employee, annual training to prevent bullying, harassment, sexual misconduct, racism, and retaliation plus providing attorneys general with results of annual anonymous player surveys of coach conduct and team culture.

The NWSL must provide unlimited free and confidential counseling services to all players.

"This investigation was initiated by the NWSLPA because players refused to stay silent in the face of systemic abuse," said Meghann Burke, NWSL Players Association executive director.

"The human rights and civil rights violations they endured were enabled by a system that failed in its most basic duty: to protect its players."

“This settlement not only acknowledges those failures but, for the first time, establishes enforcement mechanisms under the law to hold NWSL accountable and to prevent future harm."

(B.Smith--TAG)