In sports news, a yearlong independent investigation has documented systemic abuse of players at all levels of women’s soccer, including the National Women’s Soccer League. 

Washington, October 5 (RHC)-- In sports news, a yearlong independent investigation has documented systemic abuse of players at all levels of women’s soccer, including the National Women’s Soccer League. 

The lead investigator was Sally Yates, who briefly served as acting attorney general.  In a statement, Yates said: “Our investigation has revealed a league in which abuse and misconduct — verbal and emotional abuse and sexual misconduct — had become systemic, spanning multiple teams, coaches and victims.”  

Sally Yates went on to say: “Abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women’s soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coaching and blurs boundaries between coaches and players.”  The independent investigation comes a year after two coaches in the National Women’s Soccer League were fired over abuse allegations.