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Washington (AFP)
Washington Spirit and Gotham FC players suspended their game for more than a minute on Wednesday to protest against sexual assaults allegedly suffered by former players, allegations that rock the North American Women’s Football League (NWSL).
The protagonists of this championship meeting stopped the game, positioning themselves arm in arm, arm in circle, inside the central circle. They did so in the sixth minute, to symbolize the number of years it took for the alleged actions of former North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley to be known, who was fired last week after the allegations. of sexual assault directed at him by two former players.
Sinead Farrelly thus testified in an article of the site The Athletic to have been coerced into forced relations when she played under his orders at Philadelphia Independence. And along with Mana Shim, they also claimed that on another occasion, when Riley was coaching them with the Portland Thorns in 2015, he forced them to kiss in his apartment.
These allegations, which prompted Fifa to open an investigation, seriously shook the NWSL, since they were accompanied by criticisms of the inaction of Commissioner Lisa Baird, who ended up resigning. Just like Washington Spirit president Steve Baldwin, whose decision to sack team coach Richie Burke following accusations of verbal and moral harassment has not made us forget his long passive management of the case.
This interruption of the match was made as a sign of “solidarity” with the victims of abuse, according to the players’ union (NWSLPA). “Tonight, we are back on the pitch because we will not let our joy be taken away from us,” they said, after refusing to play last weekend.
Two more games were played on Wednesday and similar interruptions to play occurred, between the North Carolina Courage and Racing Louisville in Cary, NC, and between the Portland Thorns and the Houston Dash in Oregon.
In its press release, the players’ union detailed a list of proposals, including that each coach and general manager submit to an independent investigation into abusive behavior. The NWSLPA also demanded that the open investigation announced by the League on Sunday be extended to the 12 clubs that make it up, as well as its staff members.
© 2021 AFP
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