Two years after allegations of misconduct and sexual abuse rocked the NWSL, some league general managers are now expressing concern that reforms for female players have “gone too far,” according to an ESPN survey, prompting pushback from the players’ association.
In an anonymous ESPN survey of general managers from each of the league’s 14 teams, all unanimously said the league’s culture has seen a drastic shift in accountability since a pair of investigations in 2022 uncovered systemic abuse across the NWSL.
But the prevailing sentiment was that “the pendulum has swung too far the other way,” a phrase used verbatim by two different CEOs.
“I think it's still a very stressful place for staff,” one general manager said. “I think you have to be very calculated in every conversation, in every interaction you have with athletes. We have to err on the side of being overly positive or conservative, which I think in any other professional or corporate environment you wouldn't necessarily be.”
Last month, the league and the players' association signed a new six-year collective bargaining agreement that grants full free agency upon expiration of contracts, the elimination of the player draft, a higher salary cap, a significant increase in minimum salaries and expanded parental leave and child care benefits.
The new CBA is the result of reforms implemented following allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse that made headlines in 2021.
The league implemented training programs for coaches and made key hires to oversee hiring practices, all of which built on the first CBA signed in 2022.
The general managers, who spoke to ESPN on condition of anonymity so they could freely express their opinions on a variety of topics, were asked about the reforms and some expressed concerns.
“There's a fear among the staff about what you can and can't say, about asking players' permission and not asking them for permission, about whether they're going to get in trouble for this,” one general manager said. “And that means, to me, it's gone too far.”
However, NWSLPA head Meghann Burke said it was “dishonest” for general managers to simultaneously support improving player protections and then claim players have too much power.
“I absolutely reject that there is any factual or evidentiary basis for the narrative that players have too much power,” Burke told ESPN, adding that he has heard such opinions privately for years, including from some people who have since been removed from the league.
“It's misleading to simultaneously accept that the league has been completely transformed and that we've created a healthier, better work environment and culture, while also saying that the players have too much power, because you can't have one without the other. The players did the work of transforming this league. There was no savior – no league, no team, no one else who was going to come in and transform the NWSL. It was the players themselves.”
GMs noted an inability to hold, or perhaps a fear of holding, a one-on-one meeting with a player about game tactics or performance.
Burke believes these are misinterpretations of what is not permitted.
A coach or general manager and a player meeting for coffee in a public space, for example, is permissible, Burke said.
“Human beings change much more slowly than rules and written words,” he said, adding that he has empathy for those trying to adapt to the changes. He said he is genuinely encouraged that people are thinking about their behaviors, and that such reflection will help the rules crystallize over time.
“I think it's OK for people to be uncertain, and that's part of this transformation process. I think as we get comfortable with the changes that have been implemented, in the years to come people won't have any doubts,” Burke said.
League management, echoing the concerns of general managers, is also actively thinking about how to better support coaches, not just players. In an exclusive interview with ESPN earlier this year, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said players can’t perform at their best without top-level coaching, and that the league needs to provide coaches with more resources to understand what’s appropriate and what’s not.
Berman stressed that this work must be done in addition to, and not instead of, improving the league for the players.
“They need to feel super aware of what they're doing, but not to the point where they feel unsupported or paralyzed,” Berman said of coaches.
“We are trying to do the same with the coaches, the sporting staff and the technical staff, to make sure that we have their trust as well. We need the trust of the players, we need the trust of the coaches and we all need to work together to make sure that we offer the best possible working environment for everyone. That is also in the players' interest. The players need it too.”
The league has implemented training programs for coaches. For the past two years, the NWSL partnered with the Positive Coaching Alliance to host a summit on “establishing and maintaining organizational and team culture” and how to build trust and facilitate difficult conversations.
The NWSL has also made key hires to oversee HR and other strategies, including Lauren Lopez as head of people and culture in December 2022 and Olivia Wynn, a former U.S. Department of Justice investigator, as the league’s chief security officer in June 2023.
Berman's four-year term as commissioner began on April 20, 2022.
“You don't want to [coaches] “We want them to feel like everyone is waiting for them to make a mistake,” Berman said. “We want them to feel like we're a world where, people who did horrible things aside, we're all human. We all make mistakes. As long as, as I've said in every press release when we've issued disciplinary actions, they acknowledge their mistakes and are willing to work on themselves and express a commitment to be better, and go through their rehabilitation and their training, we want people like that. We don't expect perfection.”
One general manager said of the increased scrutiny after the reforms: “It's been slightly damaging, and I think it needs to be made clear.”
This drastic shift in responsibility came after Paul Riley, who coached several NWSL teams, was alleged to have sexually coerced female players while coaching the Portland Thorns.
Former Chicago Red Stars coach Rory Dames and former Washington Spirit coach Richie Burke were also alleged to have verbally and emotionally abused players.
Games were canceled because players refused to take the field following the Riley report, putting the future of the league in doubt.
An investigation commissioned by US Soccer and led by former US Attorney General Sally Yates, released in October 2022, confirmed the reports of abuse and uncovered additional allegations of abuse by former Racing Louisville coach Christy Holly.
The league and the NWSL Women's Players Association conducted a second investigation.
The investigations detailed how previous NWSL leaders failed to heed players' concerns and allowed coaches to act in an abusive manner.
Since then, the NWSL and NWSLPA signed their first collective bargaining agreement in early 2022 and agreed to a new one last month.
The players' association was first created in 2017 and became an AFL-CIO affiliate in 2021, joining the NFL and MLB players' unions on the AFL-CIO Sports Council.
The league and players also collaborated to develop a coaches' code of conduct and a non-fraternization policy, each of which has been publicly cited this year in the firings of staff members by the Kansas City Current and Houston Dash.
The prompt resolution of those two recent incidents is a sign that the processes are working. But these were also black-and-white scenarios: any relationship involving a player or coach (or anyone with power over the player) is strictly prohibited.
Some general managers expressed concerns to ESPN about the gray areas of day-to-day interactions and whether a player's complaint could disproportionately damage a coach or staff member's reputation because of a misunderstanding.
“The league has gone from one end of the spectrum to the other,” another general manager said as part of the survey. “We need to find a middle ground.”
These sentiments were repeatedly shared, but were not unanimous.
Several general managers spoke only positively about the changes made because of the reforms, with one GM saying the balance needed to shift back toward the players following the league's reckoning with alleged abuse by coaches.
As another general manager put it: “The conversations we’re having in the process have driven greater transparency and openness among our teams, which is very healthy.”
