NWSL agrees to pay $5 million to players who suffered abuse in new settlement

The NWSL will create a $5 million player compensation fund as part of a settlement regarding its role in widespread allegations of abuse.

The settlement, announced on Wednesday, ends a joint investigation by the attorneys general (AGs) of the District of Columbia, Illinois and New York concerning systemic abuse across the league and potential violations of state and local human rights laws.

The three offices, as with the investigation by former U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates and the joint investigation by the NWSL and NWSL players association that came before them, focused on “pervasive sexual harassment and abuse by coaches against players” and systematic failures by the league to “exercise adequate insight, institute workplace antidiscrimination policies, or appropriately respond to complaints,” as listed in the settlement agreement.

The three AGs found that “the NWSL was permeated by a culture of inappropriate and abusive behavior, including sexual harassment and harassment and discrimination based upon gender, race, and sexual orientation.” However, no new revelations came out of their investigation.

In addition to the Players’ Restitution Fund, the three offices will have the power to oversee and enforce NWSL policies concerning player safety for the next three years. The league must send compliance and misconduct reports every six months.

“We have worked collaboratively with the NWSLPA and the attorneys general to add greater strength to the programmatic changes we adopted in 2023 in light of the joint investigative reports, and we look forward to supporting the administrator in distributing the Players’ Restitution Fund,” NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said in a statement on Wednesday. “We will continue to do the work necessary to maintain the trust of our players.”

The AGs called the settlement historic. Previous claims of this nature were not handled by state AGs but stemmed from criminal or civil complaints — such as USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee settling with the survivors of Larry Nassar.

“Players suffered in silence — ignored by those in a position to prevent this harm. Only through their bravery — speaking out, demanding change, and refusing to back down — did the full scale of the league’s failures come to light,” Tori Huster, a retired NWSL player and the deputy executive director of the NWSL Players Association, said in a statement. “I want to be clear: this was possible because players demanded it.”

The NWSL abuse scandal was on the radar of all three AGs going back to the original reporting and investigations. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and New York Attorney General Letitia James sent an open letter to the NWSL and U.S. Soccer in December 2022 following the release of the Yates report, in which they expressed their “alarm” over the findings.

At the same time, the office of the D.C. attorney general had been following the ongoing reports concerning misconduct at the Washington Spirit. When D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb took office at the start of 2023, the three offices joined forces and began working on their investigation into potential violations of state and local human rights laws.

“While NWSL has made critical improvements, the victims never received any compensation for the sexual and emotional abuse they endured on the league’s watch,” Schwalb said in a statement released on Wednesday. “No dollar amount could ever fully address the damage that was inflicted, but now my office, together with New York and Illinois, will have oversight authority to ensure that the league’s new safety policies are implemented and that current and future players are protected.”

Wednesday’s settlement focuses primarily on summarizing the findings from the two investigations concerning former Chicago Red Stars head coach Rory Dames, former Spirit head coach Richie Burke and former Western New York Flash (then NC Courage) head coach Paul Riley — all three of whom fall under the jurisdiction of the three offices.

The settlement, published Wednesday as an “assurance of discontinuance” — essentially a promise from the NWSL to follow the rules from now on — cites Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (the same law cited heavily in the USWNT’s battle for equal pay and equal conditions), as well as the Human Rights Acts of New York state, New York City, D.C. and Illinois.

The report acknowledges the league has already worked to implement the recommendations from both the Yates report and the joint investigation, as well as the sanctions and corrective actions the league issued in January 2023. The document also notes that there is a new NWSL commissioner in place in Berman, the league’s human resources office has grown and the league and players association signed the first collective bargaining agreement in 2022.

Wednesday’s settlement, however, adds two major additions to those actions: the $5 million restitution fund and active monitoring from the attorneys general.

A press conference is set for Wednesday morning. Erin Simon, whose account of her experience with former Racing Louisville head coach Christy Holly opens the Yates report, has been announced as a speaker. This story will be updated following its conclusion.

The Athletic has reviewed the settlement agreement, as well as the protocol for restitution fund.

What does the settlement mean for the players?

The NWSL has to commit $5 million to establish the restitution fund, which will compensate players directly.

The league has to follow a protocol set by the AGs in the settlement, though that protocol was not publicly provided as part of Wednesday’s documentation. However, there are some basics outlined in the agreement.

The NWSL must hire a third-party administrator to oversee the fund (hiring this person is an additional expense outside the $5 million). The NWSL has already selected who will serve in that role: former U.S. district judge Barbara Jones, who previously served on the oversight committee for the league and PA’s joint investigation.

The league will put the $5 million into escrow. Wednesday’s document says that two players with settled claims against the league may be paid $1 million from the fund. These two players are unnamed in the document.

The remaining $4 million will be distributed to other players, though an exact process has not yet been determined. Jones has 45 days to provide a written plan to the AGs and the league for her proposed process for players to file their claims.

Another part of the new investigation from the AGs was determining what policy changes the NWSL had implemented already in the wake of the two previous investigations, as the league does not publicly publish all of its policies and internal manuals. Their agreement notes that while the NWSL has made changes, there are some new requirements for the league to follow.

The AGs have requested a review of almost every policy change and newly hired human resource and player safety representative, as well as the content of trainings and other materials from the league.

The settlement repeatedly mentions how player surveys, administered by the league starting in 2013, raised concerns about team cultures and allegations of harassment, yet were rarely acted upon by NWSL’s leadership, and how they failed to share results with the teams themselves.

The AGs are requiring an opportunity for exit interviews and anonymous feedback; they will review player surveys from past and future years; and the league will have to seek player feedback on counseling services.

Additionally, the NWSL will have to establish a policy that requires teams to consult the players association during the hiring process of any head coach to “ensure they have an adequate opportunity to raise any concerns about the prospective hire’s history or reputation as it relates to player or staff safety and wellbeing.”

The PA will be tasked with providing a list of assistant coaches, player safety officers and head athletic trainers they believe “present concerns based on history and reputation,” for the league to consult during those hiring processes as well.

How can players receive payment?

Wednesday’s agreement includes a four-phased outline of the fund protocol. The first is notification, including emails and certified mail to all potentially eligible players via the NWSLPA.

Players will then have a window of 180 days to file their claims in the second phase. Players will need to provide information, including a description of events that took place, and can provide additional supporting documentation including medical or psychiatric treatment records.

The third phase of this process is an assessment of those claims, which will happen on a rolling basis throughout the 180-day window.

According to the process described in the agreement issued Wednesday, Jones, as the fund’s administrator, will do so by “reviewing the application survey and any supporting documentation, interviewing the claimant (via video conference or in person depending on claimant location and seriousness of allegations), and interviewing or otherwise communicating with corroborating witnesses as necessary.” It also notes Jones may use her discretion if she must interview the “alleged abuser” to resolve any claim.

Each claim will be ranked by severity. Though Wednesday’s agreement notes that categories could change, the AGs anticipate that the most severe claims will include sexual abuse or assault, the next level will include severe harassment, and finally, less severe harassment. The AGs note that if retaliation occurs, it could increase a claim’s ranking.

Once all claims have been submitted and ranked, Jones will determine the money that will be issued to players based on the total number of claims — divided by the three different rankings. The money may not be evenly split between each player at each severity level, but instead set on a case-by-case basis based on each player’s experience.

Jones has an additional 90 days to determine the final amounts following the assessment period (though she may request an additional 90 days if needed due to the number of claims). Players will need to sign a release form to accept those payments via wire transfer.

If there’s any money not distributed to players as part of this process, any remaining funds will be donated to the players association’s emergency and charitable fund.

How will the AGs oversee and enforce these policies?

NWSL must ensure the attorneys general are kept informed via mandatory reports every six months for the next three years, which must include two sections: how the league is implementing the required policies and a report of any formal or informal complaints alleging misconduct and any subsequent investigation status.

The three AGs will actively monitor and enforce these changes across the NWSL. While the league has done its share in establishing policies for player health and safety, there was no established external force to do so beyond public sentiment. Three years of oversight with the threat of additional investigations or civil actions helps add teeth to the continued work of improving the league.

The AGs can initiate future investigations, and they have the right to bring civil action against the league in the courts of D.C., Illinois and New York.

There are also three provisions that, if the NWSL fails to meet them, could have additional penalties: if the NWSL fails to pay the players via the $5 million fund; if the league fails to perform any of the “programmatic relief requirements” (the policy changes, etc.) within a certain timeframe; or if the league is charged by one of the AGs with breaking the laws cited in the agreement (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act or any of the three states’ human rights laws). If any of those happen, the AGs can investigate and/or bring a civil action against the league, and issue a $2 million penalty that would be paid out to their three offices.

The oversight agreed to in this settlement cannot be extended past three years. However, any one of the attorneys general could open a new investigation if necessary after the three years end. The offices hope that if anything were to occur after that, players would feel empowered to report misconduct to their offices.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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