NWSL suspends matches in light of sexual abuse controversy

CHICAGO — After a tumultuous week off the pitch, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has suspended all matches this weekend.

The decision came following revelations of sexual abuse by North Carolina Head Coach Paul Riley, leading to him being fired by the club, the investigation into Washington Spirit which led to Richie Burke being fired, and the revelation that OL Reign’s Head Coach Farid Benstiti’s resignation came after a formal complaint of verbal abuse from a player

The statement was simple, “The National Women’s Soccer League announced today that given the gravity of the events of the last week, matches scheduled for this weekend will not occur.”

The turmoil didn’t stop there, with the Athletic revealing that among the issues around the league was the blind eye that the league office took to these issues that prompted two significant resignations. Commissioner Lisa Baird has resigned after less than a year in charge of the league and general counsel Lisa Baird has joined her.

Along with these issues, the matters have been taken up by both the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for an investigation and FIFA who released a, mostly ridiculed, statement expressing their concerns about the events happening in the league.

As a result of the events, the NWSL Player’s Association has announced that it will have a sports psychologist available and has set up an anonymous tip-line for players to report abuse.

In addition, the NWSLPA issued a series of demands with a deadline that passed yesterday afternoon, that an investigation is launched into the allegations, in line with the Anti-Harassment policy, that anyone (or teams as a whole) who are found to have breached the policy be immediately suspended and that NWSL reveal how Paul Riley was hired by another NWSL club after an investigation into abusive conduct.

The final part of those demands hasn’t been followed up on yet, but the wording from the Player’s Association implies that this can wait until after the investigation. The league hasn’t made an announcement if it commenced the investigation at this time.

While it is only this week’s matches canceled at this time it’s difficult to see how NWSL can get players back on the pitch in a league where only five of the seven coaches that have been fired this year are because of abuse. The players could not be blamed if they refused to play out this season.