Tag: Arnim Whisler

Chicago Red Stars set to be sold to Laura Ricketts, co-owner of Cubs and Sky

The controversial reign of owner Arnim Whisler appears to be nearing an end

A collective of women business and civic leaders led by Laura Ricketts has reached an agreement in principle to purchase the Chicago Red Stars, the group has announced.

Ricketts, who is the co-owner of MLB’s Chicago Cubs and the minority owner of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, said in a statement that she is looking forward to taking over the NWSL franchise once the league’s Board of Governors gives its final approval.

“I am honored to lead this group of Chicago business and civic leaders in our effort to purchase the Chicago Red Stars,” said Ricketts. “Our respective backgrounds in professional sports, finance, turnaround management, commercial real estate, marketing and advertising, paired with our deep community ties, make for a powerful combination that will serve us well in reaching our ultimate goal: building a championship organization on and off the pitch.

“Building a championship culture begins with treating our players with the respect they deserve as women and athletes,” Ricketts added. “We look forward to completing this transaction so that we can begin this new chapter for the team and the fans.”

Ricketts also stated her desire to keep the team in Chicago.

“We wholeheartedly believe in and are excited about the future of the Red Stars and the NWSL,” said Ricketts. “There is unprecedented fan growth in women’s soccer globally, and we want to be a part of building on that momentum here in Chicago.”

Whisler’s controversial reign nears end

In December, Red Stars owner Arnim Whisler announced that he had begun the process of selling the team amid a host of controversies surrounding his handling of former coach Rory Dames.

Dames was forced to resign in 2021 after a Washington Post report detailed allegations of sexist comments, abusive conduct, and inappropriate relationships with players.

Whisler has been under fire after revelations from last year’s Yates report showed that he shielded Dames from accountability.

According to the Yates report, complaints against Dames were filed with U.S. Soccer and/or the NWSL in 2014, 2015, and 2018, but Whisler seemed uninterested in considering their merits. Whisler was also found to have never conducted a background check on Dames, and told investigators he never had reason to take action against Dames despite the allegations over the years.

The Red Stars Board of Directors voted in October to remove Whisler from his position as Chairman of the Board, while the team’s players released a coordinated statement calling on Whisler to sell the team.

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Chicago Red Stars players call on owner Arnim Whisler to sell the team

The Red Stars are looking to force their owner’s hand

Chicago Red Stars players released a coordinated statement on Monday calling on owner Arnim Whisler to sell the team.

Whisler is under fire after revelations from last week’s Yates report showed that he shielded former coach Rory Dames from accountability despite numerous complaints dating back to 2014.

Dames was forced to resign last year after a Washington Post report detailed allegations of sexist comments, abusive conduct, and inappropriate relationships with players.

The Red Stars Board of Directors last week voted to remove Whisler from his position as Chairman of the Board, but that move did not mean that Whisler would be required to sell the team.

Red Stars players are now doing their part to force Whisler’s hand, with their statement saying the owner lied to them about how much he knew about the allegations against Dames.

It continued: “We are united with the Board of Directors in their decision to remove Whisler from the organization entirely and look forward to finding a new majority owner who can help us reach the full potential that we as players always knew existed at this club.”

Prior to the move from the Red Stars Board of Directors last week, Whisler announced he had stepped down from the league’s Board of Governors and had given operational control of the club to the Red Stars’ “executive team.”

USWNT star Megan Rapinoe also called for Whisler and Portland Thorns owner Merritt Paulson to sell their respective teams.

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Rapinoe: Paulson and Whisler aren’t fit to be NWSL owners

Both owners are under fire for their roles in the Yates report

U.S. women’s national team and OL Reign star Megan Rapinoe has said Portland Thorns owner Merritt Paulson and Chicago Red Stars owner Arnim Whisler are not fit to be in their positions.

Paulson and Whisler have been under fire for their roles in the Yates report, with both owners taking steps back from their positions this week in the fallout from the investigation.

But neither has indicated at this point that they would look to sell their team, with Paulson also the owner of the Portland Timbers of MLS.

Rapinoe, speaking at a press conference ahead of Friday’s friendly against England at Wembley, has said that both Paulson and Whisler should not be part of the NWSL.

“Those people are in positions that have responsibilities and they didn’t fulfill those responsibilities,” Rapinoe said. “They didn’t protect the players at all. I feel like it’s impossible to overstate that every single year, someone said something about multiple coaches in the league and about multiple different environments. So if year after year after year, you cannot perform your duties — I know I wouldn’t be in my position if I couldn’t perform my duties year after year.”

Rapinoe added: “Without accountability and without people specifically who did the wrong thing being gone, that just says to us that nobody’s really hearing us. So obviously, the firings in Portland. We’ll see what happens with the management but I don’t think that Merritt Paulson is fit to be the owner of that team. I don’t think Arnim is fit to be the owner of Chicago. And we need to see those people gone.”

Rapinoe’s words came after her USWNT teammate Becky Sauerbrunn called for the dismissal of “every owner and executive and U.S. Soccer official who has repeatedly failed the players and failed to protect the players.”

On Wednesday, Paulson fired Gavin Wilkinson, the president of soccer for both the Portland Thorns and Portland Timbers, and the organization’s president of business Mike Golub.

Also. on Wednesday, the Chicago Red Stars board voted to oust Whisler from his position as Chairman of the Board.

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Chicago Red Stars board of directors strips owner Arnim Whisler of power

Whisler isn’t completely out in Chicago, but the club’s board has reduced his power

The dominoes continue to fall across the NWSL following devastating revelations from the Sally Yates investigation.

Wednesday evening, the Board of Directors for the Chicago Red Stars released a statement, saying that they had ousted the team’s controlling owner Arnim Whisler from his position as Chairman of the Board.

“The Board of Directors of the Chicago Red Stars voted this morning to remove Arnim Whisler as Chairman of the Board, to transition him out of his board seat immediately with the Chicago Red Stars (Chicago Women’s Soccer Academy, LLC) and to codify his removal from any further participation with either club or board operations,” read the board’s statement.

“The Board was deeply disappointed after reading the Yates report and believes the club cannot move forward in rebuilding trust with players, staff and the Red Stars community with his continued involvement. Job one for board members is to continue building a culture where players, and all who work at the club, feel that they are in a safe and supportive environment. Lastly, the board wants to extend its gratitude for all who displayed such bravery in sharing their stories. Thank you for coming forward.”

The changes do not mean that Whisler has sold his share of the club. On Tuesday, he posted a statement to Chicago’s site saying that he had stepped down from the league’s Board of Governors and had given operational control of the club to the Red Stars’ “executive team.”

Whisler not gone yet

While Whisler’s step back being followed by the board’s move to strip him of power does provide some distance between an owner who per the Yates investigation repeatedly shielded former coach Rory Dames despite numerous complaints, it does not mean he is no longer involved with the club.

At the moment, Whisler still holds a controlling share of the club, and based on his history — which includes a claim he had stepped back from day-to-day control early in 2022, only for him to announce in Tuesday’s statement that he was only now moving away from operational control — it is impossible to believe that the team and organization will be free of his influence until he has divested his financial stake in the club.

Chicago, on Whisler’s watch, was found to have let players down beyond simply hiring and empowering Dames for many years. Players ended up having Whisler as a landlord rather than a proper team housing environment, while both the Yates investigation and Local 134 have said that statements Whisler made to them were later proven to be false or misleading. Dames was allowed to resign — and praised by a club statement announcing the move — just before a Washington Post report spelled out extensive allegations of sexist and racist comments, abusive conduct, and inappropriate relationships with players.

In other words, how can anyone believe that Whisler will actually stay out of team business? And how can the players and staff that remain heal and move on with him in place, even at a distance?

According to CBS Sports, the club’s board “wants to help facilitate a sale of Arnim’s shares,” but that necessarily means he still holds those shares.

Red Stars supporters’ group Local 134 said they will “boycott all in-person events including attendance at games, merchandise purchases, and other Red Stars events that directly or indirectly benefit Arnim Whisler.” The group also urged fans who had already purchased 2023 season tickets to demand a refund in full.

Just as players and employees shouldn’t have to suffer through the environment Whisler fostered, fans should not have to choose between completely staying away and turning their backs on something they love or feeling like they’re supporting someone who has let them down in such an egregious manner.

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Chicago Red Stars owner Arnim Whisler surrenders operational control after Yates investigation

Chicago is the latest club undergoing massive upheaval after the Yates investigation

Major change continues in the NWSL, with Chicago Red Stars majority owner Arnim Whisler reducing his role at the club.

In the aftermath of the investigation led by Sally Yates that has shaken the league to its core, Whisler released a statement via the Red Stars’ site on Tuesday, announcing that he has stepped down from the NWSL Board of Governors and will not have operational control of the team going forward.

“In the interest of the club and the players, and fans we serve, effective immediately, I will remove myself from my governance role within the NWSL board of governors and will hand over operational control of the club to our executive team in Chicago,” wrote Whisler.

It is not immediately clear who that executive team is. Curiously, Whisler was supposed to have already reduced his day-to-day role with the club, with the Red Stars’ CBO Vicky Lynch reportedly saying in February that she was “running the day-to-day” operation. The Red Stars’ site only lists Lynch and associate General Manager Michelle Lomnicki with job titles that could be recognized as those of club executives, while a section on team ownership lists a Board of Managers and Advisory Board Co-Chairs, but contains no indications of which owner would have a controlling share.

Whisler’s choice comes one day after the report from the lengthy investigation from Yates, the former U.S. attorney general, revealed findings that portrayed his inaction as the club’s controlling owner as a major factor in how Rory Dames — the subject of extensive allegations of abuse, sexual advances, usage of slurs, and other misconduct in the report — continued for years as Chicago’s head coach.

Dames was in place as Chicago’s head coach when NWSL began in 2013, and was retained until the end of the 2021 season, when he abruptly stepped down just a day before a Washington Post report detailing years of misconduct came out.

The Yates investigation found that complaints against Dames were filed with U.S. Soccer and/or the NWSL in 2014, 2015, and 2018, but that Whisler seemed disinterested in considering their merits. Whisler was also found to have never conducted a background check on Dames, and told investigators he had never had reason to take action against Dames despite the allegations over the years.

Ongoing turmoil around NWSL

Whisler’s step back came just hours after Portland Thorns owner Merritt Paulson said that he and club presidents Gavin Wilkinson and Mike Golub would relinquish decision-making power at the club, though in their case all remain employed and in their roles with MLS’s Portland Timbers.

The Yates investigation also contained disturbing findings about Racing Louisville coach Christy Holly, but as of now no executive has made a statement or been put on leave at the club.

Speaking from the U.S. women’s national team’s camp in England, Thorns and USWNT captain Becky Sauerbrunn called for the removal of “every owner and executive and U.S. Soccer official who has repeatedly failed the players and failed to protect the players, who have hidden behind legalities and have not participated fully in these investigations.”

NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman made a statement concerning the moves in Chicago and Portland shortly after Whisler’s move was announced.

“The NWSL is supportive of the important steps taken by the Portland Thorns and Chicago Red Stars today. As the league continues to evaluate the Yates report, I want to assure you that we remain committed to implementing reform and disciplinary action, both as a result of the Yates report and the NWSL/NWSLPA’s Joint Investigative Team’s findings,” wrote Berman. “The Joint Investigative Team is working towards concluding their report by the end of the year, and we will not interfere with that process, as the findings of that investigation will offer important input from our players.”

“While it will take time, we are fully prepared to take the necessary steps to protect the health and safety of our players, staff and other stakeholders in order to create the league that our players, fans, partners and staff deserve and expect.”

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