Romantic and sexual relationships between coaches and players are inappropriate, even if they are consensual, per the NWSL and NWSLPA joint report released Wednesday.

The Sally Yates report, commissioned by U.S. Soccer and published in October, focused on predatory relationships through which coaches wielded their power to sexually and emotionally abuse players. The NWSL and NWSL Players Association report, which was the product of a 14-month investigation into widespread misconduct in the league, went a step further on the subject, calling for an end to consensual relationships between players and coaches or staff members.

The report recommends revision to the Anti-Harassment policy to also include the Non-Fraternization policy.

“The Non-Fraternization Policy should also clarify that any sexual or romantic relationship between players and those in supervisory roles over players is strictly prohibited, even if the relationship is consensual,” the report reads.

The NWSL and NWSLPA investigative team found several instances of such inappropriate relationships and raised concerns about the issues that come along with them.

The concerns include an inherent power imbalance and threats of favoritism and disruption in the team environment. One of the biggest issues with these types of relationships is they “blur the lines between appropriate and inappropriate behavior, increasing the risk of misconduct.”

Relationships between coaches and players have become commonplace in the NWSL after that trickling down from previous professional women’s soccer leagues. The report acknowledges that some of the most well-known American soccer stars are married to their former coaches, such as Brandi Chastain and Julie Foudy, though the report does not mention them by name.

Chastain’s husband, Jerry Smith, was the head coach at Santa Clara when she joined the team in 1989. They were married in 1996, six years after she left the program. Smith remains the coach of the Broncos, and Chastain returned in 2010 to serve as a volunteer assistant coach on his staff.

Foudy is married to Ian Sawyers, who was an assistant coach at Sanford when she played for the Cardinal from 1989-92.

Amanda Cromwell, who was named in the report for retaliating against players while she was coach of the Orlando Pride, is also married to a former player, Megan Fish. Cromwell coached Fish in college at UCF before she went on to lead the UCLA program from 2013-21 and take the Pride job in 2021. Cromwell’s contract was terminated in October based on the findings of the investigation.

Those are just three examples of player-coach relationships, and the report mentions others.

“One former player recalled that her college goalkeeper coach and assistant coach were both married to former players,” the report reads. “She recalled thinking at the time, ‘They’re all adults,’ and did not consider the ‘context of how these people met.’”

The power imbalances at the root of these relationships are the same dynamics that can lead to abusive and non-consensual relationships.

Christy Holly, who is cited in both the Yates report and the NWSL and NWSLPA report, is in a relationship with one of his former players, Christie Pearce Rampone. The relationship began when he was her coach at Sky Blue and caused conflict within the team, per the report.

“One player said that ‘everything’ players told Pearce Rampone ‘went back to’ Holly,” the report says. “A club staff member said the relationship made players feel that they did not ‘have anyone to talk to’ or ‘anyone to trust.’”

Players felt that Holly’s decisions were centered around Pearce Rampone, according to the report. In one instance, he pulled her from the starting lineup following a fight, but when they reconciled, he put her back into the lineup.

“And while Sky Blue leadership, the League, and Racing Louisville knew that Holly had a relationship with Pearce Rampone, who had been one of his players, the relationship was generally viewed as not concerning because Pearce Rampone was older than Holly and a prominent figure within the women’s soccer landscape,” the NWSL and NWSLPA report reads.

Around the same time, Holly was engaging in acts of sexual abuse and emotional manipulation toward Erin Simon, the report says. Simon played for him both at Sky Blue and Racing Louisville, where the abuse continued. This non-consensual relationship also took place while Holly was in a consensual relationship with Pearce Rampone.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

The 2025 NWSL regular-season attendance numbers are in, with a Tuesday Sports Business Journal (SBJ) report outlining a 5% decline from the record highs the league saw in 2024.

Despite setting a new single-game record in August, the NWSL averaged 10,669 fans per match this season, down from average crowds of 11,250 last year — though the 2025 numbers do mirror 2023's attendance averages.

"Our underlying business is incredibly strong," NWSL COO Sarah Jones Simmer told SBJ, citing multiple single-game team highs. "Across the league, we're seeing consistent attendance growth, franchise-best seasons, and record-breaking moments in markets big and small."

The 2025 season saw the Portland Thorns unseat Angel City as the NWSL's top-supported team, with the LA club seeing a 15.8% drop in overall attendance before missing the playoffs for the second straight year.

ACFC's SoCal neighbor, the San Diego Wave, experienced the steepest 2025 fall, with ticket sales down 26.4% from 2024 and 35.2% from the 2022 expansion club's Shield-winning 2023 campaign.

Some teams did see gains, however, with the North Carolina Courage improving attendance by 40.8% over the last two years while the Washington Spirit's numbers jumped 42.3%, Gotham FC's rose 41.1%, and the 2024 champion Orlando Pride saw a massive 51.5% growth over the same period.

Though this year's attendance declines are not cause for immediate alarm, with two new teams launching next year — and even more in the pipeline — sustainability concerns are increasingly entering the expansion conversation.

The 2025 NCAA soccer postseason has arrived, with this week's conference tournaments setting the scene for November 10th's Selection Monday — and the 64-team Division I College Cup.

While 30 teams will earn automatic bids to the national tournament by winning their conference titles, all NCAA squads are looking to impress this week with 34 additional bracket spots awarded by the selection committee on Monday.

Stanford entered this week at No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches rankings, with the ACC regular-season title-holders also earning a bye into Thursday's conference tournament semifinals.

"We've got to keep getting better," Cardinal head coach Paul Ratcliffe said. "If we want to win the national championship, you gotta learn from each game and continue to push forward and improve."

After sending four teams to the 2024 College Cup, the ACC remains on top of the women's college soccer landscape with four of the current Top-7 teams hailing from the conference — though other contenders loom.

The No. 3 Memphis Tigers remain the year's surprise success story as one of the sport's two unbeaten teams, with the mid-major squad now vying for their fifth American Conference championship this weekend.

Elsewhere, the No. 13 Washington Huskies and No. 9 Michigan State Spartans enter Thursday's Big Ten tournament semifinals as the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds, respectively, while upsets already ousted the top seeds from both the SEC and Big 12 tournaments: No. 4 Arkansas and No. 5 TCU.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA soccer conference tournaments

The majority of the 30 NCAA soccer conference tournaments will kick off their semifinals on Wednesday and Thursday, with live coverage of most matches across the Big Ten Network and ESPN platforms.

No. 8 Tennessee opened their 2025/26 NCAA basketball season on a down note, falling to No. 9 NC State 80-77 on Tuesday as the Volunteers hope to better last season's Sweet Sixteen finish under second-year head coach Kim Caldwell.

Vanderbilt transfer forward Khamil Pierre led the Wolfpack with a 21-point, 14-rebound double-double, while fellow preseason Top 25 player Talaysia Cooper led Tennessee's efforts with 23 points and 11 rebounds of her own.

"We wanted to see where we were early, so we had time to fix it," Caldwell said postgame about Tennessee opening the 2025/26 NCAA season against a Top-10 foe. "I think that's exactly what we got out of it. We have a lot of things we can fix. We can get a lot better."

Tuesday's narrow loss was encouraging news for a Tennessee side reeling from a recent roster loss, after Caldwell dismissed starting guard Ruby Whitehorn — a double-digit scorer for the Vols — following the senior's second offseason arrest.

"I love Ruby and will always be rooting for her, but my priority is to uphold the respected reputation of the Lady Vols," Caldwell said in a Sunday statement.

"I have failed to uphold the standards of the lady vol legacy and what it represents and for that I apologize," Whitehorn posted in response.

With the Vols' next ranked matchup set for November 30th, Tennessee's softer slate will allow Caldwell's team to continue refining their new starting lineup before their next big test.

The Toronto Tempo has officially landed a sideline leader, with the 2026 WNBA expansion team announcing ex-New York Liberty boss Sandy Brondello as their inaugural head coach on Tuesday — and making her one of the league's highest-paid coaches in the process.

"This is the place I wanted to be," Brondello said during her introductory press conference. "To build a team from the ground up — that really excited me."

Brondello joins the Toronto Tempo as a two-time championship-winning coach, claiming her first title with the Phoenix Mercury in 2014 before taking the New York Liberty to the top in 2024.

The first-ever Canadian WNBA team is also doubling down on their choice, with multiple reports valuing Brondello's multi-year contract at over $1 million annually.

The 57-year-old Australian — a three-time Olympic medalist as a player — will join the Mercury's Nate Tibbetts and Las Vegas Aces boss Becky Hammon as the only known WNBA coaches earning seven-figure salaries.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

That said, Brondello could have banked even more, with Front Office Sports reporting that a different WNBA team offered her a more lucrative offer, but Brondello deemed Toronto a better fit.

 "From my first conversations with the Tempo organization, it was clear we share the same vision: to build a world-class franchise that competes at the highest level, to create a strong and dynamic culture, and to root everything we do in clear and consistent values," Brondello said in team statement.

"This is a place that's serious about doing things the right way — about excellence, about people, about community — and that's exactly the kind of environment every coach wants to be part of."

As the offseason coaching carousel nears its final turn, teams are stretching resources as they prep for big spending — and a contentious new CBA — in 2026.