Alex Morgan helped her Portland Thorns teammate Mana Shim file an abuse complaint against their then-coach Paul Riley in 2015.

Now the U.S. women’s national team star is joining Shim on U.S. Soccer’s participant safety taskforce to help prevent abuse across all levels of the sport.

Shim is the chair of the taskforce, which was created as a direct result of a U.S. Soccer-commissioned investigation into abuse in the NWSL. The taskforce will seek “to drive change across the entire soccer ecosystem,” the federation said Friday in a news release.

Morgan will be joined on the 33-member taskforce by her USWNT teammates Tierna Davidson, AD Franch and Naomi Girma, as well as by NWSLPA president and Washington Spirit midfielder Tori Huster.

The NWSL also will be represented by Carlin Hudson, director of strategy for the league, and by Yael Averbuch West, general manager for Gotham FC.

The taskforce also includes one former member of the men’s national team, Tony Sanneh, though no current USMNT players, as well as representatives from professional, recreational and youth leagues, among others.

Former USWNT midfielder Shannon Boxx and Maryland youth association executive director Greg Smith will serve as vice chairs.

The priorities for the taskforce include supporting the recommendations that resulted from the investigation. The group also has been asked to identify “the biggest concerns regarding the risks around relationships with significant power imbalances,” in particular coach-player relationships, which NWSL Coach of the Year Casey Stoney called out in October as “power dynamic that should not happen.”

“There is much to do, but I am confident we have a team with a wide range of experiences and viewpoints to change the culture in soccer from the ground up,” Shim said in the release. “Together, we will be defining new standards, policies, reporting systems and educational programs with the goal of eradicating abuse altogether from our sport.”

In 2015, Shim reported then-coach Paul Riley for sexual harassment and coercion. Her report led to his dismissal from the club, but the reason for his departure was not made public.

“It was offensive,” Shim said. “They weren’t going to say anything about Paul unless they had to, right? Because it was at their expense. It would make them look bad.”

In September 2021, Shim and her former Thorns teammate Sinead Farrelly went public with allegations of abuse against Riley. Their whistleblowing led to investigations into systemic abuse in the NWSL, one by U.S. Soccer and one by the league and its players association.

The findings of the U.S. Soccer investigation, conducted by former U.S. attorney general Sally Yates, detailed a culture of abuse perpetuated by leaders in the NWSL and in the federation itself.

U.S. Soccer participant safety taskforce

• Mana Shim, former NWSL player (chair)
• Shannon Boxx, former USWNT and NWSL player (vice chair)
• Greg Smith, Maryland State Youth Soccer Association executive director (vice chair)
• Margueritte Aozasa, UCLA women’s soccer coach
• Nicole Arsenault, Idaho Youth Soccer technical lead
• Jessica Bartley, USOPC director of mental health services
• Paul Burke, former Utah Youth Soccer president
• Erin Chastain, University of Minnesota women’s soccer coach
• Margie Close, American Youth Soccer Organization secretary
• Anastasia Danias, Major League Soccer executive vice president and general counsel
• Tierna Davidson, USWNT and NWSL player
• Gloria Faber, U.S. Youth Soccer and New Mexico Youth Soccer executive director
• AD Franch, USWNT and NWSL player
• Lesle Gallimore, USSF coach educator and former USSF YNT coach
• Naomi Girma, USWNT and NWSL player
• Lauren Holiday, former USWNT and NWSL player
• Carlin Hudson, former NWSL player and current NWSL director of strategy
• Tori Huster, NWSL player and NWSLPA president
• Greg Hutton, U.S. Club Soccer chief operating officer
• Cynthia Labella, Institute of Sports Medicine medical director at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
• Ben Lindau, U.S. men’s Paralympic national team player
• Alex Morgan, USWNT and NWSL player
• Kim Oberle, former FIFA referee and current national referee coach
• Scott Oliaro, UNC associate director of sports medicine
• Jason Sacks, Positive Coaching Alliance president
• Amy Saltzman, abuse educator and Spot a Spider founder
• Tony Sanneh, former USMNT and MLS player
• Kwame Ofori Attah Sarkodie, former USYNT captain
• Shonna Schroedl, U.S. Adult Soccer Association Adult Council
• Renee Towles, USL senior director of safeguarding
• Kate Ward, U.S. Deaf Soccer WNT player
• Yael Averbuch West, former USWNT player and current NJ/NY Gotham FC general manager
• Corey Woolfolk, former MLS player

USA Basketball dropped its 18-player December roster on Monday, selecting both standout vets and fresh faces for the national team's final training camp of 2025.

Taking place at Duke University from December 12th until the 14th, five 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalists — Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young — will anchor the Team USA lineup.

Notably, a full 10 players will join the senior team for the first time next month, as young WNBA superstars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, and Cameron Brink earn their first call-ups.

A pair of NCAA stars will also attend the December camp, with the national governing body tapping both UCLA senior center Lauren Betts and USC junior guard JuJu Watkins on the roster — though Watkins will not participate in on-court activities as she continues to rehab an ACL tear.

Along with the full camp roster, USA Basketball also dropped its December sideline leaders, with current WNBA head coaches Nate Tibbetts (Phoenix Mercury), Natalie Nakase (Golden State Valkyries), and Stephanie White (Indiana Fever) comprising the assistant coaching staff for the previously announced senior national team head coach Kara Lawson.

December's camp is the team's first step toward the World Cup qualifiers in March, when the US will compete despite having already qualified for the 2026 FIBA World Cup by winning the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup in July.

Overall, the clock starts now for USA women's basketball managing director Sue Bird, who is in charge of cultivating the best team for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

The USA Basketball December Training Camp Roster

Overall No. 1-seed Stanford has rolled through the competition in the first three rounds of the 2025 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament, with the Cardinal booking their spot in this weekend's quarterfinals with a 6-0 thumping of No. 5-seed BYU on Monday.

Stanford has outscored their opponents 16-4 so far, ousting unseeded Cal Poly 3-1 in the first round and claiming a 7-3 second-round shootout win over No. 8-seed Alabama before bouncing BYU.

Elsewhere in the bracket, fellow No. 1-seed Vanderbilt is also still alive after the Commodores took down SEC rival No. 4-seed LSU in Monday's Sweet Sixteen.

Not every top seed is through, however, as ACC standouts Nos. 1 Notre Dame and Virginia both fell to Big Ten contenders in the NCAA tournament's early rounds.

Reigning Big Ten Champions No. 4-seed Washington sent the Cavaliers home in a Sweet Sixteen penalty shootout on Sunday, as the Huskies continue their run in honor of late senior goalkeeper Mia Hamant.

Unseeded Ohio State has also surprised, overcoming a mediocre 4-2-5 performance in 2025 Big Ten play by staging an upset run through the national tournament. After claiming golden-goal overtime winners to oust Notre Dame last week and No. 5-seed Baylor on Sunday, the Buckeyes will make their first Elite Eight appearance since 2010 on Friday.

No. 2-seeds Michigan State, Duke, and TCU, as well as No. 3-seed Florida State round out the quarterfinal competition, as the Big Ten joins the ACC in leading the charge toward the 2025 College Cup with three teams each in the Elite Eight.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA soccer quarterfinals

The 2025 NCAA soccer tournament kicks off its Elite Eight round with three ACC vs. Big Ten matchups on Friday, when No. 2 Duke takes on No. 4 Washington at 4 PM ET before No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 2 Michigan State and No. 3 Florida State vs. Ohio State begins at 5 PM ET.

The last quarterfinal takes the pitch on Saturday, as SEC favorite No. 1 Vanderbilt faces No. 2 TCU at 7:30 PM ET.

All quarterfinals will stream live on ESPN+.

Despite a slight dip in attendance, the NWSL has continued to see steady gains from its TV audience this year, posting a league-wide 22% viewership growth during the 2025 regular season.

Prior to last Saturday's title game, the NWSL reported that postseason viewership had risen 5% from the 2024 Playoffs, when the Orlando Pride completed a league-double Shield and championship win.

Even more, ABC and ESPN platforms saw their largest percentage hike for NWSL regular-season matches in history, with the audience growing an impressive 61% year-over-year — though CBS still touts the league's highest viewership average at 479,000 fans tuning in per 2025 match.

Three of ABC/ESPN's top matchups featured the Washington Spirit, with the Portland Thorns also making two appearances in the Top-5 most-watched games of the 2025 season on the platform.

Additionally, CBS's 2025 semifinal between Washington and Portland drew 548,000 viewers while the other NWSL semifinal between Orlando and reigning champs Gotham FC averaged 328,000 viewers on ABC.

Broadcast partner ION, which carries the most linear games each NWSL season, also claimed a 5% increase in overall viewership from 2024.

Ultimately, the NWSL remains competitive with other North American soccer leagues in finding an audience on TV, with the league now aiming to retain its star power in order to encourage even more growth.

Founding WNBA franchise Phoenix will have a new look entering the 2026 season, as the Mercury announced its first-ever rebrand on Monday to celebrate the team's upcoming 30th anniversary campaign.

"The new branding represents the Mercury's championship legacy, devoted fanbase, and the new era that began with a record-breaking season and memorable [2025] Finals run," said Phoenix CEO Josh Bartelstein in a statement.

In honor of the franchise's 1997 inaugural season, the new primary Phoenix logo positions the Mercury "M" at an angle of 19.97 degrees, while the team's redesigned global logo centers the primary emblem on top of four rings — mirroring the planetary rings on the Mercury's original design.

The team is also debuting a first-ever secondary logo, featuring the outline of the state of Arizona with the seams of a basketball, while also officially introducing the popular "Merc" nickname into the WNBA squad's branding lexicon.

In celebration of the rebrand, Phoenix is currently running a first-of-its-kind community giveback called the Merc Merch Swap, in which fans can trade old team merchandise — which will be donated to Goodwill — for a newly branded Mercury T-shirt.

How to purchase or swap for new Phoenix Mercury merch

To take part in the Merc Merch Swap, fans can bring any Phoenix, WNBA, or WNBA team item to the Mercury Team Shop at Mortgage Matchup Center to swap for a new logo T-shirt as well as a single-item 20% voucher through through Friday, December 5th.

Phoenix's rebranded items are also now available for purchase at the team's online shop.