The NWSL and NWSLPA released the report on their joint investigation Wednesday, which uncovers new details of “widespread misconduct” in the league.

The NWSL, its clubs and U.S. Soccer failed to protect players, per the report, which both reiterates and expands upon the U.S. Soccer investigation released in October. The investigation pulls back the curtain on just how entrenched such abuse was in the league.

“Misconduct against players has occurred at the vast majority of NWSL clubs at various times from the earliest years of the League to the present,” the report found.

NWSL and NWSLPA Comment on Joint Investigative Team Report

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) December 14, 2022

“This report clearly reflects how our league systemically failed to protect our players,” commissioner Jessica Berman said in a statement, followed by an apology to players for the NWSL’s “failures and missteps.”

“They deserve, at a minimum, a safe and secure environment to participate at the highest level in a sport they love, and they have my unwavering commitment that delivering that change will remain a priority each and every day,” Berman continued.

The NWSL and NWSLPA started the investigation in October 2021 after a 2021 report in The Athletic detailed allegations of sexual harassment and coercion made in 2015 against then-Portland Thorns head coach Paul Riley. In the wake of The Athletic’s report, Riley was fired as head coach of the North Carolina Courage.

Riley’s misconduct continued in his time with the Courage. He engaged in grooming behaviors toward one player, and other players reported abusive conduct and comments, per the report.

Riley did not participate in the joint investigation.

The report also exposed further details of Chicago Red Stars owner Arnim Whisler’s failure to protect players.

Whisler disregarded player complaints about former head coach Rory Dames. He also reportedly considered keeping Dames on staff in a role that would not involve players, even with full knowledge of the Washington Post’s 2021 report into his misconduct. While Whisler later asked Dames to resign, the owner still paid him for the remainder of the year.

Whisler has committed to selling the Red Stars after being ousted by the club’s Board of Governors.

The NWSL investigation focused not just on these clubs but on the entire league. Several names not mentioned in Sally Yates’ report for US Soccer also were implicated in the report, among them: former Gotham FC general manager Alyse LaHue, former Houston Dash coach Vera Pauw and former Utah Royals coach Craig Harrington.

• LaHue made unwanted sexual advances toward a player during her time with Gotham FC, per the report. Among the advances were text messages, including one that read, “I don’t see us as friends.” While LaHue initially participated in the investigation, she canceled a follow-up interview and declined multiple requests to reschedule.
• Pauw weight-shamed players and “attempted to exert excessive control over their eating habits” as Dash coach in 2018, per the report. Players said Pauw “wanted to exert control over ‘every aspect of their lives.'” While Pauw appeared for an interview, she “refused to cooperate,” according to the report. She also provided a written statement denying the allegations.
• Harrington, who served as an assistant coach of the Red Stars in 2018-19 and became head coach of the Royals in 2020, “blurred professional boundaries with players,” the report reads. Harrington would drink with players at bars, sometimes to excess, and also made sexual comments to and about players, per the report. Harrington denied the allegations, but the report states that the investigative team “did not find his denials to be credible when viewed against the accounts of multiple other witnesses.”
• Former NWSL general counsel Lisa Levine mishandled player complaints, per the report. And then when interviewed by the investigative team, she “deflected criticism of the NWSL’s failure to act in response to these complaints onto the players themselves,” the report reads.

“While this report is the culmination of a tireless effort by many, it was players who took the first steps to bring us to this moment,” NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke said. “When faced with the choice between silence versus speaking out at real personal risk, players who demanded a reckoning gave the NWSL a chance at transformation. They deserve our gratitude and respect.”

The report details a systemic failure by both the NWSL and U.S. Soccer, stemming from a lack of structure and guidance in and between the organizations. U.S. Soccer managed the NWSL from 2012 until 2020.

For example, while clubs expected the league to help handle misconduct reports, the league expected teams to have processes at the HR level to handle such reports.

“[Former U.S. Soccer president Sunil] Gulati also stated that U.S. Soccer relied on the league and the club to develop their own policies regarding misconduct, but he did not recall ever conveying to the clubs that they were responsible for setting up these policies,” the report states.

Background checks were not mandated until August 2021, when the league implemented a policy requiring them for head coaches. In September, that was expanded to assistant coaches and other staff directly involved with players.

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.