U.S. Soccer has announced that its investigation into abuse and sexual misconduct in women’s soccer is nearing its conclusion, and the full report will be published in early October.
The federation brought in former U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates to lead the investigation, which began last October after a series of allegations about abusive coaches in the NWSL.
In a statement released on Monday, U.S. Soccer said:
“Last October, U.S. Soccer retained Sally Q. Yates of King & Spalding LLP to lead an independent investigation into allegations of abusive behavior and sexual misconduct in women’s professional soccer. That investigation is nearing its conclusion. U.S. Soccer will publish the full report by early October, following the completion of the investigation.”
Five coaches in the NWSL were either fired or resigned in 2021 amid claims of inappropriate behavior. Perhaps the most high-profile of those departures was Paul Riley, with The Athletic publishing an article featuring on-record claims of sexual coercion from two of Riley’s former players.
Yates said in a statement this February that her mandate would be broad, meaning she wouldn’t just investigate the perpetuators of abuse but the systems and people that enabled them.
“The scope of our investigation is broad,” Yates said. “We are investigating not only allegations of misconduct, but also the factors that may have contributed to, perpetuated, or concealed abuse.
“Our mandate is to find the truth and make recommendations to ensure that going forward, players are treated respectfully, wrongdoing is uncovered and addressed, and players are protected from harassment or retaliation.”
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