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Nick Tre. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
The National Women’s Soccer League has agreed to a $5 million settlement with three attorneys general to provide financial compensation for mistreated athletes, according to a joint announcement on Wednesday.
The settlement will close investigations in Illinois, New York and Washington, D.C., that began following allegations of widespread, “systemic” abuse in the NWSL dating back a decade. Allegations of verbal and sexual misconduct and abuse, as well as enablement and improper reporting systems, were exposed in two extensive reports published in 2022.
“For too long, the hardworking and talented women of the National Women’s Soccer League were forced to endure an unacceptable culture of abuse, harassment, and retaliation,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “This settlement sends a clear message that such misconduct will not be tolerated and ensures players receive the compensation and protections they deserve.”
The settlement requires league-wide policy changes from the NWSL and will include various future oversight from the attorneys general. The NWSL will be required to provide the results of annual, anonymous player surveys of coach conduct and team culture to the attorneys general.
The NWSL must also submit bi-annual reports for the next three years to the attorneys general detailing implementation of settlement terms. The league will face a $2 million civil penalty “if it materially defaults on the terms of the settlement.“
The fund will be administered by retired U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones, who was an independent member of the committee overseeing the 2022 NWSL/NWSLPA joint investigation. Once the fund opens, players will have six months to apply. The fund will not prohibit any individual from pursuing private legal actions, the attorneys general confirmed on a media call on Wednesday.
Any unclaimed funds will be donated to the NWSLPA’s emergency and charitable fund, the attorneys general said in a press release.
All players will soon be notified of the fund by mail, James said. NWSL Players Association executive director Meghann Burke said the names of players, and total number of players who receive funding, will remain confidential.
Former NWSL player Erin Simon spoke briefly on Wednesday’s press call. Simon was one of the players to come forward by name in 2022 when she alleged multiple instances of sexual abuse by Christy Holly, who was her head coach at Sky Blue FC (now NJ/NY Gotham FC) and again at Racing Louisville FC.
“These reforms were not brought about on their own,” Burke said on Wednesday. “They were brought about by players with the strength and support of their union. Today was not promised when players risked everything to tell the truth. They did so at great personal cost, not because they want to tear a league down, but because they believe so passionately in its potential.
“The past three years since the reckoning of our league, with the adoption of the policies and practices laid out in this settlement agreement, prove that when our players are unburdened from the old ways of doing things, NWSL’s own potential is unleashed.”
The 2022 joint investigation ran simultaneously to a separate investigation commissioned by U.S. Soccer and led by former Attorney General Sally Q. Yates. Both investigations began following a September 2021 report that detailed alleged sexual misconduct with former players by Paul Riley, a head coach for multiple NWSL teams who won several championships. The report led to a work stoppage for the league the following weekend.
The two ensuing investigations led to widespread discoveries of misconduct within the NWSL through the years. Four former coaches were banned permanently, while eight more personnel were suspended or their future employment was conditional to her corrective action.
Nearly $3 million in total fines were issued to various clubs, and the league forced the sale of two teams – the Portland Thorns and Chicago Red Stars (now Chicago Stars FC) – due to their previous ownership’s alleged enabling of continued abusive behavior.
“We remain grateful to the many brave individuals who came forward to share their experiences, which has informed our approach to systemic reform,” NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said in a statement. “The NWSL is proud of the work we have done, in partnership with the NWSL Players Association, to set the standard for professional sports leagues.”
Berman became commissioner at the beginning of 2022, following the ousting of former commissioner Lisa Baird for her mishandling of the Riley situation.
Berman inherited a tense labor dynamic between players and the league and teams.
“We have worked collaboratively with the NWSLPA and the attorneys general to add greater strength to the programmatic changes we adopted in 2023 in light of the joint investigative reports, and we look forward to supporting the administrator in distributing the Players’ Restitution Fund,” she said.
“We will continue to do the work necessary to maintain the trust of our players and build an ecosystem where the best in the world want to come.”
Berman has a legal background and worked at the NHL for over a decade. Since her arrival, the NWSL has grown exponentially. The league began a four-year, $240 million media rights deal last year, proactively signed a new collective bargaining agreement that runs through 2030, and has added four expansion teams – including Denver and Boston, to begin play in 2026 – with more expected to join in the coming years. Expansion fees have risen from around $2 million before Berman, to $110 million for Denver.
Specific requirements of the league include:
Conducting rigorous vetting of prospective coaches, general managers, athletic trainers, and player safety officers.
Implementing multiple mechanisms for players to report misconduct.
Prohibiting coaches from having exclusive control over player housing or medical decisions.
Adopting a policy that teams may not investigate themselves regarding coach misconduct and player safety.
Establishing a league safety officer.
Requiring teams to employ dedicated HR personnel and at least one mental health professional.
Mandating annual training for all players and staff on how to prevent bullying, harassment, sexual misconduct, racism, and retaliation, and the reporting mechanisms available to players.
Providing the attorneys general with the results of annual, anonymous player surveys of coach conduct and team culture.
Providing unlimited free and confidential counseling services to all players.
Many of these policies have already been implemented across the league.
