This misconduct did not occur in a vacuum. The NWSL should emphasize that this program is not a substitute for reporting channels provided in the Anti-Harassment Policy and should not encourage players or staff to address potential misconduct under the Anti-Harassment Policy through the Alternative Complaint Resolution program. As a result, the creation and enforcement of policies and in some cases, investigations and the communication of their findings-fell through the cracks.
The NWSL did not distribute these player surveys consistently: player surveys were distributed yearly from 2013 to 2017, and again in 2020. Another veteran player commented on her early years in the NWSL: "I couldn't even have told you who was the president of the League at that time.
U.S. Soccer
While Whisler told U.S. Soccer's investigator that Dames's demeanor" and "patience" had improved by 2019, in an external organizational climate review" the Red Stars conducted in the fall of 2021, players raised the same concerns about Dames that Press first raised in 2014.
49, that he did not have "near enough support" to keep him at the club and they would "need to find the right wording."
Dames also texted certain players "all the time, including late at night. Even following the League's adoption of an Anti-Harassment Policy, players faced inconsistent policies at the club and NWSL levels governing conduct by NWSL stakeholders. The morale around the club seems higher than ever and fans are once again excited to get back into the seats of Yurcak Field. In multiple instances, Clarkson failed to understand how his conduct impacted players. The agreement prohibited the club from disclosing Holly's sexual misconduct, including to law enforcement, unless compelled by law. Plush stated that he did not share additional information because the investigation was ongoing at the time. These examples are illustrative and non-exhaustive; the policy makes clear that harassment can also include physical, visual, and written conduct, such as circulating or posting written materials that show hostility toward an individual because of their protected status, including derogatory cartoons, drawings, websites, emails, text messages, gifs, or memes. The NWSLPA was initially conceived as a means to improve communication between the players and the League and to facilitate reporting and addressing of concerns about the player experience. When asked why she did not inquire further in response to Shim's and Farrelly's 2021 complaints, she responded by focusing on language from Shim's and Farrelly's 2021 complaints in which they asked how the NWSL would respond to Shim's initial or underlying 2015 complaint, which Levine said had already been investigated by outside lawyers and which she did not believe there was a basis for re-opening.