On Thursday, The Athletic dropped a bombshell report regarding former North Carolina Courage head coach Paul Riley. Some of his former players have accused him of sexual coercion and inappropriate comments that span over a decade.
Lisa Baird, the commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League, released a statement on these allegations this afternoon.
“I was shocked and disgusted to read the new allegations reported in The Athletic this morning,” Baird said. “The league, in concert with the North Carolina Courage, has reacted swiftly in response to these new allegations, and former head coach Paul Riley has been terminated. Concurrently, we are reporting these new allegations to the US Center for SafeSport for investigation.”
That statement from Baird isn’t sitting well with USWNT star Alex Morgan. She called out the league on Twitter, claiming the league was informed of these allegations multiple times and refused to investigate them.
“The league was informed of these allegations multiple times and refused multiple times to investigate the allegations,” Morgan tweeted. “The league must accept responsibility for a process that failed to protect its own players from this abuse.”
(1/3)The league was informed of these allegations multiple times and refused multiple times to investigate the allegations. The league must accept responsibility for a process that failed to protect its own players from this abuse. https://t.co/KDRBhhVBcT
— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) September 30, 2021
Morgan wasn’t the only notable player who shared her thoughts on this disturbing situation. Megan Rapinoe made it very clear that she’s disgusted with how the NWSL handled the allegations involving Riley.
“Men, protecting men, who are abusing women,” Rapinoe said. “I’ll say it again, men, protecting men, who are ABUSING WOMEN. Burn it all down. Let all their heads roll.”
Men, protecting men, who are abusing women. I’ll say it again, men, protecting men, who are ABUSING WOMEN. Burn it all down. Let all their heads roll. https://t.co/iHg3JlVVe0
— Megan Rapinoe (@mPinoe) September 30, 2021
The Athletic reported that Baird was informed of Sinead Farrelly and Meleana “Mana” Shim’s allegations in the spring, but no action was taken at that time. They both went on the record to speak about the trauma they dealt with playing for Riley.
If the NSWL initially ignored these allegations, that makes this awful situation even worse.
The post Alex Morgan Reacts To The Disturbing NWSL Allegations appeared first on The Spun.