American Football says an investigation into alleged abuse and misconduct in the Women’s National Football League is expected to be completed by early next month.
The investigation, led by former acting US Attorney General Sally Yates, began last fall after two former players accused North Carolina coach Paul Riley of sexual harassment and coercion.
Riley was fired and league commissioner Lisa Bird resigned following the players’ allegations. The American Football Association, the NFL and its players’ association announced separate investigations.
US Soccer released a brief statement on the state of the investigation Monday: “Last October, American Football retained Sally Q Yeats of King & Spalding LLP to lead an independent investigation into allegations of abusive conduct and sexual misconduct in women’s professional football. This investigation is approaching From its end, American Football will publish the full report by early October, after the investigation is completed.
Riley was among five Premier League coaches who were fired or sacked last season amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
In Riley’s case, the alleged misconduct spanned over 10 years, and included his time with Portland Thorns in 2014-15. The league was informed of the allegations, but Thorns did not publicize them. Riley went to train elsewhere in the league.
US Soccer said at the time that it had begun an investigation that Yates would have independence in its investigation.
“The scope of our investigation is broad,” Yates said in a statement in February. “We investigate not only allegations of misconduct, but also factors that may have contributed to, perpetuated or hidden the abuse. Our job is to find the truth and make recommendations to ensure players are treated with respect moving forward, wrongdoing is exposed and addressed, and players are protected from harassment or revenge.”
