The US National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has forwarded allegations of sexual coercion by Coach Paul Riley to the US Center for SafeSport. ‘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’, read a statement. ‘Concurrently, we are reporting these new allegations to the US Center for SafeSport for investigation’.

Players Sinead Farrelly and Meleana ‘Mana’ Shim told The Athletic that Riley had coerced them into sexual behaviour. Farrelly alleged that Riley sexually coerced her into sleeping with him and Shim alleged that Riley coerced her into sexual behaviour in exchange for a promise of favourable treatment at training sessions. Farrelly alleges that her collapse during a 2014 game was the result of Riley’s sexual coercion. In response to 23 questions from The Athletic, Riley denied the majority of the allegations, including sleeping with any players.

However, NWSL players, including former Captain of the national team Alex Morgan, dispute the NWSL’s claims that it ‘acted swiftly’. Farrelly reported her concerns about Riley to the NWSL in 2015 (see below), which launched an investigation. She argues that the NSWL recognised the serious nature of the allegations when they removed Riley as Coach of Portland Thorns, but soon after announced that he would Coach North Carolina Courage. Merritt Paulson, owner of Portland Thorns, confirmed to The Athletic that Riley’s behaviour was a factor in his removal.

(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