Portland Thorns head coach Rhian Wilkinson has resigned from her post after an investigation into her conduct.
The former Canada international said she had reported herself to the Thorns last season, and the club then passed the information on to the National Women’s Soccer League. Wilkinson said that she and one of her players had developed “feelings for one another” but the relationship went no further. The NSWL and the league’s Players’ Association then investigated the matter.
“In an effort to follow NWSL and NWSLPA processes to protect player safety, and to be as transparent as possible, the player and I immediately stopped spending time outside of training together, and soon after stopped all communication outside of work,” Wilkinson wrote in a statement. “In less than a week, I reported myself to human resources to make sure I had not crossed any ethical lines.”
The investigation exonerated Wilkinson of any wrongdoing but she has still chosen to step down.
“The Portland Thorns and Coach Wilkinson followed all League processes and policies and fully cooperated with this investigation,” NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said in a statement. “The joint investigative team conducted a thorough investigation that resulted in a finding of no violation of League policies.”
However, Wilkinson said that her players had lost faith in her. “Once you’ve lost the locker room, which I have, there’s no return,” she told The Athletic.
Wilkinson’s resignation comes at a tumultuous time for the NWSL after a report found that sexual and emotional abuse was widespread across the league. Former Thorns coach Paul Riley was accused of sexual misconduct by several players. On Thursday, Thorns owner Merritt Paulson said he is putting the club up for sale.
Wilkinson was a successful coach on the field: she led the Thorns to the NWSL title in October. She won 181 caps and two Olympic bronze medals as a player with Canada.
“I would like to thank the Portland Thorns organization, the fans, the staff and most importantly the players for a remarkable year,” Wilkinson wrote in her statement on Friday. “During my time in Portland I have met some incredible people and been fortunate enough to coach some of the best players in the game.”
The Portland Thorns are National Women’s Soccer League champions for a record third time after winning 2-0 over the Kansas City Current before a near-sellout crowd at Audi Field in the nation’s capital on Saturday night.
The brace of goals came from burgeoning US star Sophia Smith and an own goal early in both halves. And while the threats from the west coach giants were varied and relentless – overshadowing any from middle-America surprise package Kansas City – the start, middle and end of the momentous match were marked in particular by Smith. It was a fitting end to a season notable for just the same. The 22-year-old newly minted NWSL Most Valuable Player – the youngest in the 10-year-old league’s history – made her mark early with a fourth-minute goal on a match that would prove notable for her performance above all else.
The first half saw few opportunities for Kansas City to rectify the almost-immediate deficit. Smith’s quick strike buried any groundswell Current may have otherwise counted on, shifting the advantage Kansas City gained in their other playoff runouts and putting them on a back foot from which they never recovered.
Smith’s goal, poached from a defensive mistake, was also the first of a remarkably few shots taken by either side throughout the half. It was an opportunity well earned by Smith’s renowned and relentless press and added another accolade to her growing résumé: youngest player to score in a NWSL final.
While the Thorns’ attack was defined by Smith, the No 1 overall pick in the 2020 NWSL draft was complemented in momentum by the varied contributions of Morgan Weaver, Yazmeen Ryan and midfielders from Sam Coffey to Christine Sinclair moving forward.
Defensively, the Current’s otherwise dangerous counter-attack was stymied into silence by the likes of Becky Sauerbrunn and her disciplined backline. Kansas City did mount a number of opportunities, though nothing substantial enough to penetrate a formidable and organized defense with Bella Bibxy waiting to collect everything else just behind.
Both squads left the field after 45 minutes of back-and-forth aggression resulting in few chances, with only the Thorns registering in meaningful opportunities.
Sophia Smith was named player of the match in Saturday’s NWSL final. Photograph: Ira L Black/Getty Images
Carrying forward a theme for the evening, the second half opened with Smith bringing the ball forward and looking dangerous on the dribble She nearly added a second shortly after the intermission that mirrored her first. That attempt was thwarted, but it wouldn’t be long before the Thorns found goal number two, thanks in large part – unfortunately once mor – to a defensive error by Kansas City. The own goal came from a melee in front of the net, where the keeper AD Franch was unable to stop the ball from sliding past the line.
Kansas City never mounted their full capacity in attack or looked fully dangerous in response, but they were commendably strong defending down the flanks, with strong performances from Hailie Mace and Kate Del Fava in particular. Franch – whose incredible prowess in the net played a large part in the Current’s arrival to this moment – came up big a handful of times, keeping Thorns from running an even more lopsided final margin.
The sharp upward trajectory of the Current, who reached the final in only their second season following a last-place finish in their first, remains promising. But nothing they could offer was enough to keep Portland from adding a third league title to previous wins in 2013 and 2017, making them the most decorated side in the NWSL’s decade-long history.
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Old meets new on Saturday evening at Washington DC’s Audi Field, which hosts the NWSL Championship final between the two-time champions Portland Thorns and a Kansas City Current side in their second season.
Road to capital paved with golazos and last-minute shocks
Portland Thorns overcame Casey Stoney’s San Diego Wave last Sunday with a stoppage-time wonder goal from Crystal Dunn to secure their third final appearance in the ninth edition of the championship. Dunn’s 93rd-minute strike was the second jaw-dropping goal of the day, following on from Costa Rica international Rocky Rodriguez’s volley to equalise in the first half.
In the final Thorns will meet an impeccably coached underdog who are growing fast and representing the best of reinvention in an NWSL season marked by the success of expansion clubs. After finishing bottom of the table in their inaugural year, Current finished fourth this season, went on to defeat Houston Dash in a playoff scrap and made Laura Harvey’s shield-winning, star-studded OL Reign look directionless in Sunday’s second semi-final at Seattle’s Lumen Field.
Ruthless attack meets sturdy back line
Thorns forward Sophia Smith fell short of this year’s golden boot by two goals, ceding the prize to USWNT legend Alex Morgan, who notched 16. Smith scored the highest, though, when it comes to goals from open play. Two of those came from outside the penalty area and the remaining 12 are from inside the box, where Smith operates with lethal instinct.
Smith is due a goal and if she’s firing at full capacity at Audi Field, Current may find themselves in trouble. The problem is, when Smith gets into her zone she’ll find a formidable AD Franch waiting in the Kansas goal.
Franch made seven saves to keep the Reign at bay, equalling the NWSL record in her third postseason game shut-out and setting a NWSL record for most saves in the postseason. Current will rely heavily on their goalkeeper, who is a frontrunner to win the Goalkeeper of the Year award, but have a formidable back line in front of her, too. Saturday’s battle will test both.
Kansas City Current goalkeeper Adrianna Franch claws away a shot during their semi-final victory against OL Reign. Photograph: Steph Chambers/Getty Images
Portland experience v KC momentum
Portland Thorns are not simply a team that’s been there before, it’s a club staffed with a veteran cast of characters that have been there too, and multiple times. Whether that’s NWSL victory, winning gold at the Olympics (Christine Sinclair, take a bow) or collecting multiple World Cups, Thorns have numerous experienced playersable to guide the squad through the game.
Beyond AD Franch and Canadian midfielder Desiree Scott, Kansas City Current aren’t equipped with quite as many veterans – not that have been tested at the heights of global competition. But they do have a cohesive team playing with creativity, aggression and evident joy. Coach of the year candidate Matt Potter has them playing to their strengths and they know how to manage a game against tough opponents. When AD Franch talks about the “unique heart” of the team, it’s hard not to feel the momentum is on their side.
Players to watch and prediction
There’s an exciting mix of veterans and burgeoning stars to watch in this one. For the Thorns, I’m keeping an eye out for Crystal Dunn as a late gamechanging substitute again and will be interested to see if Defender of the Year nominee Becky Sauerbrunn can help stymie Kansas City’s trend of early goals. Rookie of the Year nominee Sam Coffey has been quietly effective for Thorns in midfield. I can’t wait to see her in a final. And I’ll be watching to see if MVP nominee Sophia Smith comes equipped with the goals.
For the Current, I expect Franch to stand tall again and look forward to Smith testing her. Hallie Mace has made brief, recent cameos for the USWNT – including replacing Emily Fox at Wembley last month – and it will be interesting to see if she continues her dynamic club form through the playoffs.
The Current have made a habit of scoring early and I’ll be looking to see if they come out swinging again, with an eye on Lo’eau Labonta, Cecelia Kizer, and Kristen Hamilton to see if it comes from them.
It’s anybody’s game. I’m ready to be proved wrong, but while I can see Current getting that early goal, I predict that experience tells and the match ends 2-1 in favour of Portland Thorns.
The NWSL Championship kicks off at 8pm ET in the US on Saturday 29 October. You can watch the match on CBS live in the US or stream on Paramount+. International viewers can tune in via Twitch.
Talking points
The 2023 World Cup draw took place in New Zealand last Saturday, settling the fate for 32 teams (including three pending playoff spots). Hosts Australia and New Zealand welcome eight groups of four teams next July in the newly expanded tournament format.
The first round of Uefa Women’s Champions League matches took place last week, featuring plenty of tightly contested matches. Barcelona were once again an exception in their nine-goal rout of Benfica and side Arsenal stunned the reigning UWCL champions, Lyon, winning 5-1 in France.
Caitlin Foord fires in her second goal in Arsenal’s 4-1 Champions League win against Lyon. Photograph: Dave Winter/Shutterstock
Caitlin Foord can’t stop scoring doubles and multiple Matildas are in top form half a year from their World Cup on home soil. Foord found another two goals against Lyon in Arsenal’s aforementioned victory, adding to her tally of twos this month (another coming against Denmark). One notable exception to the Matildas-in-form family is Sam Kerr, though the Chelsea forward has plenty of time to find her goalscoring groove.
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Megan Rapinoe and her teammates are “emotionally exhausted” after the release of the Sally Yates report into emotional and sexual abuse in the NWSL, but she added that the US women’s national team are used to shouldering off-field burdens.
“As sick as this sounds, I feel like we’re used to having to take on so much more than gameplan and tactics,” said the winger. “We’ve had to shoulder a lot on this team. I think we have a lot of experience, particularly with the older group, whether it was the lawsuit or equal pay, or kneeling or whatever it may be. I think we have a bit of experience in that and that older players can help shield and shoulder a lot of it, whether it’s media attention or just what we do, how to act.”
The vocal support from their opponents on Friday, England, has been very important to the US. “It means everything,” said Rapinoe. “Our women’s national team gets a lot of attention globally for things off the field but it’s all of us. In so many ways. Even just us watching their Euros run, you couldn’t help but want them to bring it home.
“To have them acknowledge what we’re going through [is huge]. As Lucy [Bronze] said, there’s no report that came out here [in England], but I’m sure that there could be one, just as there could be one in likely every single country, which is a really sad reality. But there’s just so much solidarity between the things that we have to fight for. Come the time, we will be competing on the pitch, but I feel like everything before that, we’re all fighting together for the same things.”
Accountability is “essential” following Yates’s report, said Rapinoe. “Those people are in positions that have responsibility, and they didn’t fulfil those responsibilities and they didn’t protect players at all. It’s year after year after year, it’s impossible to overstate that every single year someone said something about multiple coaches in the league, 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.
“[There needs to be a] signal to players that we’re being heard, and we are being respected and that action is being taken. The [NWSL] was set up in a way that got it off the ground and gave us a place to play and every player would say that we’re thankful and appreciative for that, but it was also done with absolutely zero guard rails and that’s just unacceptable for the future of the league.”
Rapinoe added that players have had a “lot of practice” at having to separate the bad from the good in their sport. She mentioned three coaches who were named in the Yates report as being guilty of abuse. “Rory [Dames] has been an asshole for the entire time I’ve known him, from the first second I heard him on the sideline the first season I ever played. Paul [Riley]’s the same. I didn’t know Christy Holly personally, but everything I heard about him was horrible.
“This week is a little bit harder to compartmentalise for sure, I think the Yates report was just devastating in every single way. Even when you know some of the information, just to read it plainly and have it spelled out like that, that is just horrible.”
Fifa too must do more to make women’s football safer, she added. “Obviously, that’s a monumental task and a lot of these federations that are funded really well only get together a couple of times a year. I know that can be difficult. But from Fifa’s standpoint, as the stewards of the game, they have a responsibility to do everything in their power to ensure that every player is in a safe environment.”
In the immediate future, the task for Rapinoe and her teammate is to find the joy in football again.
“It is possible this week,” said the double Olympic champion. “I feel like there’s a reason that we’re at Wembley right now, there’s a reason that 90,000 people are coming, there’s a reason that these two particular teams have stretched way past the field and done something really special. I feel like this is a really special moment in women’s football: I know it’s just a friendly but it does feel like more than that, I think it signals more than that; we should be really proud of that.
“We shouldn’t have to do this. We shouldn’t have to shoulder all that we have, but I think we’ve done it in a pretty amazing way and continue to grow the sport and we should be really proud of that and ultimately, have a great opportunity to play in front of a packed house.”
The US midfielder Lindsey Horan has said she does not want the Sally Yates report on emotional abuse and sexual misconduct in her country’s domestic league to be the “end point” of discussions and investigations into abuses in women’s football.
A year-long independent investigation into abuse and sexual misconductwas published on Monday revealed that abuse and misconduct had become systemic, spanning multiple teams, coaches and victims in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Before the world champions’ game against England, the European champions, at a sold-out Wembley on Friday night, Horan said: “It’s not just the NWSL, this is women’s football in general, it’s women in general, we have these problems all over the world, it’s a global systemic problem. So I don’t want that to be the end point.
“This investigation came forward and we’re thankful of that but it took way too long. This whole thing was incredibly prolonged and I sit here and I’m like: it’s not done, this is all over the world and being a player in Europe right now, I know that.”
England’s Lucy Bronze echoed those sentiments. “Obviously we don’t know the ins and outs of all of it, we’ve read a little bit of it , but every single one of us is in solidarity with all of those players,” she said.
“Particularly the ones who have spoken out and told their truths, because I can imagine – well, I can’t even imagine – how hard it must be to have gone through it and then to speak out.
“The bigger picture is that speaking out is hopefully going to make sure these types of things don’t happen again and that they can make solutions, people can be held accountable. The most important thing for us to do, not only as English players and the US, is to support those players – it’s just disgraceful and it’s quite upsetting to read some of the stories.
England defender Luzy Bronze voiced her support for players speaking out about the abuse they have suffered. Photograph: Naomi Baker/The FA/Getty Images
“There are obviously problems in women’s football all around the world. We want to make changes, help support them, and equally show the standard that women’s sport should be at, whether that’s the professionalism on the pitch and how you perform on the pitch, to the environments that you live and breathe and train in.”
Horan, who is on loan at Lyon from Portland Thorns – one of the clubs accused of failing to fully corporate with the investigation – and Crystal Dunn, who plays for Portland, said the players are struggling to feel pride in their achievements with clubs and US Soccer after both were damned in the report for their failure to handle abuse allegations.
“I’m a part of an organisation I’ve always felt very proud to play for, a team I fight on the field for, a club I fight on the field for,” Horan said. “So it’s hard to read this and look back and that and feel proud to play for an organisation like that. That’s really hard for me personally … that’s where I feel hurt and disturbed and just so much anger for these players as well.”
Dunn said: “The jerseys that we’re wearing, it’s hard to be happy in them, it’s hard to find joy in wearing it. The sport we get to play we truly love and as hard as it is to pull on the jersey that you think represents so much devastation and atrocity and trauma, I think leaning on each other is the way we get through it.”
The United States captain, Becky Sauerbrunn, has demanded root and branch reform of elite domestic soccer in North America after an independent investigation found that emotional abuse and sexual misconduct had become systemic throughout the National Women’s Soccer League.
“It’s time for those in authority to start being accountable and make players in this league feel safe,” said the 37-year-old Portland Thorns defender after she and her US teammates arrived in London to prepare for Friday’s high-profile friendly against England at Wembley. “The players are not doing well. We are horrified, exhausted and really, really angry.
“We’re heartbroken and frustrated. We’re angry it took a third-party investigation and over 200 people sharing their trauma to get to the point we’re at right now. Passion for the game has been taken away from players because of this abuse, we need to bring that joy and accessibility back to the game. The executives perpetuating this should be gone.”
The investigation, commissioned by the US Soccer Federation and conducted by former US deputy attorney general Sally Yates, was launched in the wake of allegations made last year against for the former Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley. Although Riley, who is English, denies those allegations the report Yates published on Monday found that verbal and emotional abuse, as well as sexual misconduct was rife across multiple teams.
Yates and her team spoke to about 200 players in the North American top tier and soon discovered that the problem extended far beyond the allegations made not merely against Riley but a handful of other leading coaches. Investigators found that such problems were exacerbated by leading club and league officials persistently failing to heed warnings and take complaints from players and their parents seriously. The report said that three clubs – Sauerbrunn’s Portland Thorns, Racing Louisville FC and the Chicago Stars – failed to fully cooperate with investigators.
Although US Soccer has pledged to implement wholesale change, it is clear that there is considerable damage to repair. So much so that, in the course of an emotional press conference, Vlatko Andonovski, the US’s Macedonian-born manager, made it clear that he will understand should any of his players decide they are not in the right frame of mind to face England on Friday.
“It’s been a difficult day and it’s a very difficult night, there’s lot of different emotions; I’m in disbelief and disgust and I’m saddened by the report but I have tremendous respect for the bravery of the players who spoke out and participated in this report,” said the 46-year-old, who succeeded Jill Ellis as US coach following the team’s 2019 World Cup triumph in France. “Soccer is a game we all love and it should be a safe space no matter at what level.
“Now the report and its recommendations are out it’s our job to make sure no one has to deal with this at any level in our sport or any sport. All we can do is make sure it never happens again.”
Right now Andonovski, whose side will travel to Pamplona to face Spain in another friendly on Tuesday as they begin preparations for next year’s World Cup, acknowledges long festering wounds will take time to heal. “Playing is difficult, it’s not easy for our players or staff,” he said. “We’re all impacted in different ways, we all deal with this in different ways. Some people need time and space.
“All this means more than any game, if they don’t want to participate in a meeting or in training or in the game [against England] that’s up to them.”
At one point in the course of a high charged 45-minute press conference, in which the impending game against England in front of 80,000 people at Wembley seemed a total irrelevance, Sauerbrunn was asked if NWSL players may be tempted to strike in protest at their treatment.
“I haven’t thought about not playing,” she said. “I hope it won’t get to that point. A lot of us have been navigating these things for a very long time and you, maybe not compartmentalise, but you find a way to deal with it. We, as women, as players have faced a lot for a very long time and, unfortunately, I’d say you get used to it.”
She has wondered, though, if similar problems have been ignored in other countries, including England and Spain. “We hope that other federations, other leagues 100% look inwards now,” she said. “Our goal is that no other players face the same abuse. There’s no better time to start than right now to implement the procedures we were too late in introducing.”
Sauerbrunn trusts that things will be very different for the next generation of young US players. “I hope protocols are brought in that mean parents and players feel comfortable reporting abuse and that coaches receive training as to what is and isn’t out of bounds,” she said. “And that young players grow up without coaches belittling them or sexually harassing them.
“The perpetrators and the owners who didn’t take concerns seriously need to be gone. A lot of trust has been broken. The things that have happened are inexcusable. Everyone should be 100% safe from abuse.
“In my opinion every owner and executive in US soccer who failed to protect players and who hid behind legalities should be gone.”
In reply to a an inquiry as to whether she felt safe at the Portland Thorns, Sauerbrunn, perhaps tellingly, responded: “It doesn’t matter if I feel safe, everyone’s not 100% safe and that’s not good enough.”
I was asked to speak with the Yates investigation into abuse in US soccer after the Guardian published its own report into the University of Toledo that included my reports of being a survivor of sexual assault and abuse. The reality as a survivor is that you struggle to trust others and any sign of doubt about what you share triggers physical and emotional responses that make reliving those experiences yet again difficult.
Talking to the Yates investigators, I felt the disbelief was not that they doubted my story but a lack of understanding of how deep systemic abuse runs through every level of women’s soccer in the US.
Over two hours with the investigators, I shared experiences from my youth playing career, collegiate playing career, coaching career and my role as a US Soccer grassroots coaching instructor.
I told the investigators that none of the stories from the NWSL – which include reports of coaches sexually assaulting their players – were shocking for me or my peers, including those who left soccer behind decades ago. We knew the names that were mentioned. We saw these people abuse others in public and were always left imagining what might happen behind closed doors, where no one would step up to stop the perpetrators.
To understand what happened (and is happening) in the NWSL you have to look at the full landscape of the game: youth to adult, players to coaches to referees, boards to owners, clubs to governing bodies.
It all comes down to an unwavering desire by those with power to protect their own and the institutions. The truth is uncomfortable for those in power to digest. This leads to no accountability and a trail of discarded players, coaches, referees and fans who leave soccer because of the failures of leadership to protect them. The potential for success on the field is placed at a higher value than the well being of victims and survivors of abuse by the institutions who employ and enable the abusers.
I want to scream at the top of my lungs “YOU KNEW” to the leaders, institutions and organizations that run our sport. When we are finally able to come up for air and express what occurred to us, to follow what the system says we should do and report our experiences, our expectations of protection and trust are ignored or, at best, trampled on.
The best thing a survivor can do is to keep speaking up and calling out. Then a survivor will learn two things: you were not the only one, and in many cases the institution knew something about the perpetrator before you told them your story but did nothing.
But unfortunately, governing bodies and institutions, like the University of Toledo where I experienced my assault and abuse, have the protections we as survivors often do not have: opaque or non-existent oversight and the money to keep the truth away from the public. But make no mistake. They know there is a problem, yet they do nothing about it and get away with it because the systems that supposedly provide protections fail in every way and every day. In one of my conversations with a Special Victims Unit police detective I was told, “You probably need at least 10 victims. You’re at seven. Do you think you could find more?” They know there is a problem, yet they do nothing about it.
Administrators and leadership in positions of influence survive because of silence. It’s a circle of silence, in which a survivor feels defeat, shame and guilt when the institution’s inaction and silence breaks a survivor’s will to keep fighting. In my own case, the University of Toledo survives because of silence. The Ohio Soccer Association, where the coach who assaulted me continued his career, will survive with silence. US Soccer, which gave the coach who assaulted me credibility and a career, will survive because of silence. They know there is a problem, yet they do nothing about it.
Abuse in sports is normalized and has been too long masked under “what a coach is” and what a “coach must do to help you improve”. Holding expectations and accountability are pieces of a coach’s responsibilities but what everyone is now witnessing is how normalized abusive practices and behaviors have been a direct path to manipulation, harassment and abuse. They are vastly ignored because we explained them away for so long and at such a young age to most athletes.
Bobby Knight, the infamous chair-throwing basketball coach from Indiana University, was idolized by my Chicagoland club coach during my teenage years. I experienced similar temper tantrums from my coach as a teenager. I knew no different. Many of us knew no different for most of our playing days and those at the top typically did not acknowledge the difference between what helps and what hurts.
Since my lived experience at Toledo was published, the public has been generous in their words of support and comfort. Outrage is shared in the lack of empathy for the victims and the lack of accountability from the University of Toledo, NCAA, Department of Education, SafeSport, Ohio Soccer Association and US Soccer in response to the reports. Yet silence must not be allowed to win.
My plea goes to all of the institutions and organizations that have the capability to take a stand on accountability and consequences. Keep this game as safe as possible for the players, coaches, referees, administrators and fans. Be brave. Be courageous. And stop being silent. You knew. And you could have done something about it.
Candice Fabry is the owner of Fearless & Capable; Head Women’s Soccer Coach at Ottawa University (KS); Head Women’s Soccer Coach for Kansas City Courage, Midwest Region Coach for the US Youth Olympic Development Program; State Coach for Kansas Soccer Youth State Association Olympic Development Program; and a US Soccer Grassroots Coaching Instructor. She was a former assistant coach and player at the University of Toledo.
