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What NWSL misconduct report revealed about each club

(Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The NWSL and NWSLPA released the findings from their joint investigation into “widespread misconduct” in the league on Wednesday afternoon.

Just Women’s Sports outlines key new details from the report, organized by club.

Angel City FC

  • One of two expansion teams for the 2022 season, Angel City FC did not figure prominently in the findings. Still, the report did note the club, like many others, had a “too narrow” anti-harassment policy, which only prohibits “unlawful” harassment. In contrast, the league’s anti-harassment policy “prohibits discriminatory and harassing conduct in any form, regardless of whether it rises to the level of a legal violation.”

Chicago Red Stars

  • Red Stars owner Arnim Whisler considered keeping coach Rory Dames on staff in a non-player-facing role despite knowing about the Washington Post’s 2021 report into his misconduct. In the end, Dames was asked to resign after the 2021 season, but Whisler still paid him for the rest of the year.
  • Craig Harrington, who served as an assistant coach for the Red Stars from 2018-19 and as the Utah Royals coach in 2020, “blurred professional boundaries” with players, including drinking with them at bars and making sexual comments to and about players. While he denied the reports, the investigative team did not find his denials to be “credible.”

Gotham FC

  • Alyse LaHue, who served as general manager from 2018 until her dismissal in 2021, made unwanted sexual advances toward a player during her time with the club.
  • During Christy Holly’s tenure as head coach from 2016-17, players reported to management that he was verbally abusive, but the club took no action. The club also “failed to share accurate information about Holly’s conduct both with the league and other clubs.”

Houston Dash

  • Vera Pauw, who stepped down in 2018 after one season in Houston, weight-shamed players and “attempted to exert excessive control over their eating habits.” Players said Pauw “wanted to exert control over ‘every aspect of their lives.’”
  • James Clarkson, who followed Paul as Dash coach and also served as general manager from 2019-22, was described by players as “volatile, verbally abusive, and as not showing appropriate regard for players’ wellbeing.” Players also said they feared retaliation if they spoke out. Clarkson was suspended in April and his contract will not be renewed, the Dash announced Wednesday.

Kansas City Current

  • Huw Williams took the reins as Current coach in 2021, and players expressed concerns about his demeaning communication style, including comments such as, “I’m going to ream your ass.” He moved to a front office role after the 2022 season, but the team parted ways with him last month.
  • Team owners Angie and Chris Long told Williams about the meeting with players, and they also “identified to him specific players who organized the meeting, although he did not know all the players who participated.”

North Carolina Courage

  • Paul Riley, who coached the Courage from 2017-21, engaged in similar misconduct with the club that led to his dismissal from the Thorns. Kaleigh Kurtz said she felt Riley had been grooming her and identified his conduct as abusive.
  • Club leaders were aware when they hired Riley that he had suggested two Thorns players kiss while at his apartment after a night of drinking, and that an investigation into his conduct showed he exhibited “poor judgment.”

Portland Thorns

  • Riley’s sexual misconduct in his two seasons with the Thorns in 2014 and 2015 was documented in detail by the US Soccer investigation released in October, and the NWSL and NWSLPA investigation corroborated that report.

OL Reign

  • Farid Benstiti, who served as OL Reign coach from 2020-21, was hired “despite public evidence that Benstiti had engaged in weight shaming of Lindsey Horan, who had played for him at Paris Saint-Germain.”
  • OL Reign CEO Bill Predmore told Benstiti he could not discuss diet or weight with players, but he criticized players’ weights and diets and said he would monitor their food and snacks. After he gave a speech in which he criticized players’ diets, the club took action and removed him as coach.

Orlando Pride

  • Amanda Cromwell, who served as Pride coach from 2021-22, and assistant coach Sam Greene, were investigated in March 2022 for inappropriate favoritism.
  • Both coaches then “engaged in retaliatory conduct toward players they believed to have participated” in the investigation. They were placed on leave and later banned from the league.

Racing Louisville

  • Christy Holly engaged in repeated sexual misconduct and abuse targeting player Erin Simon, as revealed in the US Soccer report and corroborated by the NWSL and NWSLPA report.

San Diego Wave

  • Former U.S. women’s national team coach Jill Ellis denied receiving complaints from forward Christen Press about Chicago Red Stars coach Rory Dames during. Ellis, who now serves as Wave president, also did not recall players bringing verbal abuse by NWSL coaches to her attention during her time with the USWNT from 2014-17.

Washington Spirit

  • Richie Burke, who coached the Spirit from 2019-21, “used racial epithets, made jokes about race and ethnicity, and undermined activism on issues of race.” While he acknowledged much of this conduct to investigators, he “did not view his conduct as problematic.”

NWSL

  • The NWSL itself also received criticism in the report. For example, Lisa Levine, who worked as general counsel for the league from 2017-21, mishandled player complaints, including those regarding Riley. 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.”

US Soccer

  • US Soccer too bears responsibility for systemic failures, the investigation found. The federation managed the NWSL from 2013-20, and whole former US Soccer president Sunil Gulati said they relied on the league and teams to develop misconduct policies, expectations were not communicated clearly, which resulted in a lack of oversight at all levels.

Notre Dame Star Olivia Miles to Forgo 2025 WNBA Draft, Enter NCAA Transfer Portal

NCAA transfer portal entrant Olivia Miles #5 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish dribbles the ball during game against TCU Horned Frogs in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
Miles will reportedly enter the transfer portal. (Greg Fiume/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Notre Dame standout Olivia Miles will forgo the 2025 WNBA Draft, instead opting to stay in the NCAA for her final year of college eligibility. But she reportedly will not for the Fighting Irish.

Miles is set to enter the transfer portal, posted ESPN’s Shams Chariana on Monday, moving on from Notre Dame after back-to-back Sweet 16 exits.

"Notre Dame's Olivia Miles — the projected No. 2 pick in the WNBA draft this month — will forgo the draft and enter NCAA's transfer portal, sources tell ESPN," the journalist posted on X. "The 22-year-old top prospect makes unprecedented decision to use her one year remaining of college instead of the draft."

Miles shakes up the 2025 WNBA draft

Miles will certainly have her choice of top-ranked NCAA programs. But the projected No. 2 draft pick’s decision also has major implications on both the 2025 WNBA Draft and the 2026 draft lottery.

The junior started all 34 games this season for Notre Dame. She averaged a career-high 15.4 points per game while maintaining 48.3% effectiveness from the field.

"I love college. I think I've outgrown it a little bit, though, so that makes my decision tougher to stay. It's comfortable, a place where you have security," the star guard told ESPN after Saturday's loss.

With UConn’s Paige Bueckers sitting comfortably at No. 1, expected Top 5 pro recruits USC’s Kiki Iriafen, South Carolina’s Te-Hina Paopao, and fellow Irish Sonia Citron could all see a rankings boost.

Final Four Spotlight: Can South Carolina Win Another NCAA Championship?

Bree Hall #23 hugs Dawn Staley Head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks after defeating the Duke Blue Devils.
South Carolina has come back from two-straight second half deficits in the NCAA tournament. (Eliana Eichorn/NCAA Photos via Getty Image)

As South Carolina women's basketball returns to the Final Four, the 2024 NCAA champions’ March Madness journey hasn’t exactly mirrored last year’s dominance. But their resilience has kept them very much in contention.

The Gamecocks bounced back from third-quarter deficits in their last two tournament games, relying on tight defense and smart positional rotations to wear opponents down.

“It is that type of year, that for us, there’s not any blowouts,” head coach Dawn Staley said after her team’s Elite Eight win over Duke. “We have to grind for every single win that we can get.”

NCAA tournament player MiLaysia Fulwiley lays up a shot during South Carolina 2024/25 NCAA basketball regular-season finale win over Kentucky.
MiLaysia Fulwiley led South Carolina through this year's SEC tournament. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

South Carolina taps into depth after WNBA departures

After losing center Kamilla Cardoso to the 2024 WNBA Draft, the Gamecocks harnessed their depth, relying on strict minute restrictions to disrupt game flow and launch second-half runs.

Sophomore standout MiLaysia Fulwiley has popped off the bench, complementing leading scorer Joyce Edwards and inside show-runner Chloe Kitts.

One of the team’s key veteran leaders, senior Te-Hina PaoPao has been a grounding force as the only player averaging 25+ minutes per game.

March Madness star Chloe Kitts #21 of the South Carolina Gamecocks celebrates a basket against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the fourth quarter during the quarterfinal round of the SEC women's basketball tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 07, 2025 in Greenville, South Carolina.
Forward Chloe Kitts has been instrumental for South Carolina under the rim. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

Defense is key to Gamecocks victory

For the Gamecocks to become back-to-back champs, they’ll have to lean hard on their time-honored calling card: defense.

"Look, I mean, at this point it's not going to look pretty. Okay? It's not," Staley said after South Carolina narrowly escaped Sweet 16 opponent Duke. "There are stretches in each game that is not going to look pretty… Some of it's not going to look as smoothly as us coaches and players envision or how you practice, but you certainly have to get down and play the kind of game that's presented in front of you, and we'll do that."

“If we’re not scoring a whole lot of points, then we gotta up our defense,” she continued. “If we’re scoring a lot of points, we gotta up our defense.”

USWNT Adds Friendly Against Canada as Davidson Exits Camp with Injury

Crystal Dunn #19 of the USA kicks the ball in the first half against Canada in the final of the 2024 SheBelieves Cup.
The US last played Canada in the 2024 SheBelieves Cup. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The USWNT announced their final match of the summer’s three-game international window yesterday, with the team set to take on northern neighbors Canada in Washington, DC on July 2nd.

The friendly rounds out a bill that also includes two previously announced clashes with the Republic of Ireland scheduled for June 26th (Commerce City, Colorado) and 29th (Cincinnati, Ohio).

Team Canada Coach Casey Stoney on the field ahead of summer friendly with USWNT.
Casey Stoney joined Team Canada in January 2025. (Ira L. Black - Corbis/Getty Images)

Canada coach Casey Stoney has an edge on the US

With much of Europe focused on the 2025 Euros, July’s bout with Canada will mark the North American nations’ 67th meet-up — but the first under Canada’s new boss.

Coach Casey Stoney arrived in Canada after parting ways with the San Diego Wave last June, her two years of NWSL experience providing extra familiarity with many USWNT stars.

Stoney previously led WSL side Manchester United for four seasons, giving her further insight into current USWNT manager — and ex-Chelsea head coach — Emma Hayes’s style.

USWNT faces Brazil without injured defender Tierna Davidson

Yesterday, the US posted a major roster change ahead of this month’s friendlies against Brazil, with Gotham center-back Tierna Davidson officially sidelined due to a knee injury suffered last weekend.

Davidson will be replaced by 19-year-old Angel City defender Gisele Thompson, who earned her first two senior caps during February’s SheBelieves Cup.

While Hayes’s USWNT is all about fierce competition and roster experimentation, mounting injuries could force the team into thinner lineups than expected — and up the competition across the board.

Texas, UConn Punch Tickets to the 2025 NCAA Final Four

Sarah Strong #21 of the UConn Huskies wins the tip off over Rayah Marshall #13 of the USC Trojans during the Elite Eight round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament ahead of March Madness Final Four.
UConn advanced to the Final Four. (Tyler Schank/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

No. 1 seed Texas and No. 2 seed UConn punched their tickets to Tampa last night, joining No. 1 seeds UCLA and South Carolina in the Final Four after two tight matchups closed out the NCAA tournament’s fourth round.

Texas got the best of in-state foe TCU 58-47, behind a game-high 18-point performance from SEC Player of the Year Madison Booker.

UConn then handled USC 78-64, holding off the JuJu Watkins-less Trojans as superstar guard Paige Bueckers followed up her career-high 40-point Sweet 16 performance by dropping 31 points on the night.

"We're just so grateful, but we know like the journey isn't done," Bueckers said after the game. "We want our story to continue as long as possible, and we have business to finish."

Texas books first Final Four appearance since 2003

After four Elite Eight appearances in five years, the Longhorns finally punched their ticket to the Final Four — their first time back since 2003 — behind a tenacious defense that forced 21 TCU turnovers.

“Anybody that watched that game today, when they turned the TV off, they had to go, ‘Wow, that freaking team plays their ass off,’” Texas head coach Vic Schaefer said after the game.

"I'm having fun with it now," Booker told reporters. "March Madness — you’re supposed to have fun."

"I’m so proud of myself and proud of my team to get to this moment," Harmon said after registering 13 points against TCU.

"Rori Harmon is still that girl," echoed Booker.

March Madness star Paige Bueckers #5 of the UConn Huskies reacts to a play under the basket against the USC Trojans during the Elite Eight round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament ahead of the Final Four.
UConn superstar Paige Bueckers dropped 31 points to secure the Huskies' Final Four berth. (Tyler McFarland/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Bueckers leads UConn to the NCAA Final Four

The Huskies are headed to their fourth Final Four in the last five years. They advanced on a balanced scoring strategy that saw three different players put double-digit points on the board.

In addition to Bueckers’s 30-piece, freshman phenom Sarah Strong ran the frontcourt. Strong paired 22 points with 17 rebounds and four assists for her fifth postseason double-double. Additionally, Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen bolstered the backcourt with 15 points of her own.

"There's Disneyland, there's Disney World and then there's UConn World," Auriemma said. "These are fantasy numbers that make no sense. You couldn't predict this and you couldn't script this at all."

All four remaining teams have the potential to win a national championship. Now it’s a matter of who can deliver when the going gets tough.

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