Former Houston Dash goalkeeper Haley Carter called out the club on Saturday for their silence in the wake of the U.S. Soccer report released Monday that detailed Sally Yates’ findings of abuse in the NWSL.
Dash head coach and general manager James Clarkson was suspended at the end of April on a recommendation by the NWSL and NWSL Players Association’s joint investigation into current and past complaints of discrimination, harassment and abuse. Those findings are expected to be released by the end of the year and provide a full picture of misconduct since the NWSL’s inception in 2013.
“I’m just going to say it,” Carter, who played for the Dash from 2013-16, wrote in her tweet. “As a former Houston Dash player, I’m disappointed the club still hasn’t issued a statement following the Yates report. In the club’s history, one head coach has been formally investigated and another didn’t have her one-year contract renewed.”
She added to the thread, “To not make a statement, to not publicly acknowledge one’s own role in perpetuating systemic breakdowns in processes and accountability is just incredibly disappointing.”
If the club can find time to talk about its first playoff game in club history, it can also find the time to acknowledge the abuse and trauma players have endured in the NWSL since its inception. Former players and staff deserve that much.
— Haley Carter (@H_C_Carter) October 9, 2022
The Orlando Pride, whose head coach Amanda Cromwell and first assistant coach Sam Greene were placed on temporary administrative leave in June, have similarly yet to release a statement on Yates’ report.