Football Australia to investigate sexual harassment claims
Issued on: 05/10/2021 -
Australian footballer Lisa De Vanna -- seen here in 2015 -- has said she was sexually harassed and bullied during her career
ELSA GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
Sydney (AFP)
Football Australia pledged Wednesday to investigate historic allegations of sexual harassment in the women's game raised by former members of the national team.
Star striker Lisa De Vanna, who earned 150 caps for Australia before her retirement last month, said she was regularly subject to predatory behaviour early in her career.
Her claims come as allegations of sexual misconduct and abusive behaviour are roiling the top US professional women's football league, with the US Soccer Federation naming a former federal prosecutor to lead an investigation.
"Have I been sexually harassed? Yes. Have I been bullied? Yes. Ostracised? Yes. Have I seen things that have made me uncomfortable? Yes," the 36-year-old De Vanna told Sydney's Daily Telegraph.
"In any sporting organisation and in any environment, grooming, preying and unprofessional behaviour makes me sick."
De Vanna said incidents included being propositioned in the changing room showers and teammates pulling her down and "dry humping" her.
She said she was a teenager at the time and did not know how to handle the situation but had broken her silence because "it is still happening across all levels and it's time to speak up".
De Vanna's former manager Rose Garofano said she told the then-governing body Soccer Australia and was assured the issues would be dealt with in-house.
Another ex-player, Rhali Dobson, said she was also harassed as a youngster.
"A lot of it is pushed under the rug. It was a case of grooming when I first came on the scene," she told the Telegraph.
Football Australia, which took over running the sport in 2005, said it was unaware of the specific allegations raised by De Vanna but would investigate if she and Dobson lodged formal complaints.
The governing body said it was working with Sport Integrity Australia to set up an independent inquiry looking at the broader issue of historic abuse allegations.
"We have... been engaging with Sport Integrity Australia to develop an additional process for independently investigating allegations of a historical nature as they relate to former players and staff -- such as Lisa and Rhali," it said.
"We will announce the joint initiative with SIA once the details have been finalised."
Football Australia's move comes after independent reviews found evidence of toxic culture and abuse in women's gymnastics and hockey.
Swimming Australia this year set up an independent panel to investigate issues relating to women and girls, while admitting "unacceptable behaviour" dating back decades.
© 2021 AFP
Sydney (AFP)
Football Australia pledged Wednesday to investigate historic allegations of sexual harassment in the women's game raised by former members of the national team.
Star striker Lisa De Vanna, who earned 150 caps for Australia before her retirement last month, said she was regularly subject to predatory behaviour early in her career.
Her claims come as allegations of sexual misconduct and abusive behaviour are roiling the top US professional women's football league, with the US Soccer Federation naming a former federal prosecutor to lead an investigation.
"Have I been sexually harassed? Yes. Have I been bullied? Yes. Ostracised? Yes. Have I seen things that have made me uncomfortable? Yes," the 36-year-old De Vanna told Sydney's Daily Telegraph.
"In any sporting organisation and in any environment, grooming, preying and unprofessional behaviour makes me sick."
De Vanna said incidents included being propositioned in the changing room showers and teammates pulling her down and "dry humping" her.
She said she was a teenager at the time and did not know how to handle the situation but had broken her silence because "it is still happening across all levels and it's time to speak up".
De Vanna's former manager Rose Garofano said she told the then-governing body Soccer Australia and was assured the issues would be dealt with in-house.
Another ex-player, Rhali Dobson, said she was also harassed as a youngster.
"A lot of it is pushed under the rug. It was a case of grooming when I first came on the scene," she told the Telegraph.
Football Australia, which took over running the sport in 2005, said it was unaware of the specific allegations raised by De Vanna but would investigate if she and Dobson lodged formal complaints.
The governing body said it was working with Sport Integrity Australia to set up an independent inquiry looking at the broader issue of historic abuse allegations.
"We have... been engaging with Sport Integrity Australia to develop an additional process for independently investigating allegations of a historical nature as they relate to former players and staff -- such as Lisa and Rhali," it said.
"We will announce the joint initiative with SIA once the details have been finalised."
Football Australia's move comes after independent reviews found evidence of toxic culture and abuse in women's gymnastics and hockey.
Swimming Australia this year set up an independent panel to investigate issues relating to women and girls, while admitting "unacceptable behaviour" dating back decades.
© 2021 AFP
US Olympian Morgan slams NWSL's handling of sexual harassment claims
Issued on: 05/10/2021 -
Issued on: 05/10/2021 -
Paul Riley was fired as coach of the North Carolina Courage last week
Maddie Meyer GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
Los Angeles (AFP)
US national team star Alex Morgan on Monday blasted the North America's top professional women's soccer league for not doing more to protect players over the last decade from sexual harassment by some of its coaches.
Morgan's comments come in the wake of The Athletic's reporting last week detailing alleged sexual misconduct by former National Women's Soccer League coach Paul Riley, spanning multiple teams and leagues since 2010.
Morgan was speaking on NBC's "Today" show on Tuesday where she was joined by two players, Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly, who previously played for Riley and went on record with allegations against him.
"I'm here to support Mana and Sinead and to continue to amplify their voices, and just show the systemic failure from the league and how wrong they did in handling Mana's case and complaint and investigation and where they failed Mana and Sinead, and probably many other women," said Morgan, who won a gold medal with the US Olympic team in 2012.
"When I look back, I tried to be as good a friend and teammate as possible to Mana in helping her file a complaint, when at the time there was no anti-harassment policy in place, there was no league HR, there was no anonymous hotline, there was no way to report.
"We've now started to put these things in place, by demand of players, not by the league being proactive. Something we ask is for the league to start being proactive, not reactive. We're asking for transparency."
Farrelly, who played for Riley at three different teams, accused the coach of "sexual coercion" while he was her coach at the Philadelphia Independence.
Riley went on to become the coach of the North Carolina Courage after the Portland Thorns sacked him. The Courage fired Riley last week.
In the fallout from the allegations, NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird resigned last week from her job.
The league had also postponed a number of weekend matches but said Tuesday that the schedule would continue going forward.
Shim said Tuesday that Riley destroyed their careers.
"He's a predator. He sexually harassed me, he sexually coerced Sinead, and he took away our careers," Shim said. "From early on, there was a possession not just from Paul but from the team that I was playing for.
"They silenced me for multiple issues, my sexuality being the most important one, and, yeah, I was just very, very uncomfortable the whole time."
In a statement to The Athletic, Riley denied wrongdoing, describing the allegations as "completely untrue."
"I have never had sex with, or made sexual advances towards these players," he told the website.
The league's player's union, the NWSLPA, has said that "systemic abuse" was "plaguing the NWSL."
The NWSL announced Sunday it had retained a lawyer to oversee a number of investigations.
US Soccer and FIFA have also said they would launch investigations into the matter.
© 2021 AFP
Los Angeles (AFP)
US national team star Alex Morgan on Monday blasted the North America's top professional women's soccer league for not doing more to protect players over the last decade from sexual harassment by some of its coaches.
Morgan's comments come in the wake of The Athletic's reporting last week detailing alleged sexual misconduct by former National Women's Soccer League coach Paul Riley, spanning multiple teams and leagues since 2010.
Morgan was speaking on NBC's "Today" show on Tuesday where she was joined by two players, Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly, who previously played for Riley and went on record with allegations against him.
"I'm here to support Mana and Sinead and to continue to amplify their voices, and just show the systemic failure from the league and how wrong they did in handling Mana's case and complaint and investigation and where they failed Mana and Sinead, and probably many other women," said Morgan, who won a gold medal with the US Olympic team in 2012.
"When I look back, I tried to be as good a friend and teammate as possible to Mana in helping her file a complaint, when at the time there was no anti-harassment policy in place, there was no league HR, there was no anonymous hotline, there was no way to report.
"We've now started to put these things in place, by demand of players, not by the league being proactive. Something we ask is for the league to start being proactive, not reactive. We're asking for transparency."
Farrelly, who played for Riley at three different teams, accused the coach of "sexual coercion" while he was her coach at the Philadelphia Independence.
Riley went on to become the coach of the North Carolina Courage after the Portland Thorns sacked him. The Courage fired Riley last week.
In the fallout from the allegations, NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird resigned last week from her job.
The league had also postponed a number of weekend matches but said Tuesday that the schedule would continue going forward.
Shim said Tuesday that Riley destroyed their careers.
"He's a predator. He sexually harassed me, he sexually coerced Sinead, and he took away our careers," Shim said. "From early on, there was a possession not just from Paul but from the team that I was playing for.
"They silenced me for multiple issues, my sexuality being the most important one, and, yeah, I was just very, very uncomfortable the whole time."
In a statement to The Athletic, Riley denied wrongdoing, describing the allegations as "completely untrue."
"I have never had sex with, or made sexual advances towards these players," he told the website.
The league's player's union, the NWSLPA, has said that "systemic abuse" was "plaguing the NWSL."
The NWSL announced Sunday it had retained a lawyer to oversee a number of investigations.
US Soccer and FIFA have also said they would launch investigations into the matter.
© 2021 AFP
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