Update: NC Courage fire Paul Riley after 2 former players accuse him of sexual coercion
The NC Courage fired coach Paul Riley Thursday after former players have come forward to accuse him of sexual coercion and the NWSL’s player’s union called for an investigation.
In a statement, the team said the “very serious allegations of misconduct” led to Riley’s dismissal.
Assistant coach Sean Nahas was named the interim head coach.
Editor’s note: Below is an earlier version of the story, written before the team announced it was firing Riley. For the latest updates to this story, please click here.
In a story published Thursday morning by the Athletic, Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim said Riley lured them into sexual relationships and socialized with his players while coaching the NWSL’s Portland Thorns and two previous teams. The owner of the Thorns told the Athletic that Riley was fired in 2015 in part because of the accusations against him.
Riley was then hired by the Western NY Flash, who moved to the Triangle and became the Courage when they were purchased by Stephen Malik in 2017. Under Riley, a 58-year-old Englishman who has coached in the United States since 1986, the Courage has emerged as the league’s preeminent team, winning two NWSL championships, three regular-season titles and distinguishing itself against some of the best European teams in exhibition competition.
The Courage, currently third in the NWSL standings, on Wednesday announced that a scheduled press conference with Riley ahead of Friday’s home game against the Washington Spirit had been “postponed” four minutes before it was scheduled to take place.
“When we hired Paul, we made perfectly clear the expectations of the job and the values of our club, and from what we know, he has lived up to those expectations,” the Courage said in a statement released to the Athletic. “If there are any players or staff that wish to come forward in accordance with NWSL league policy, we encourage them to report any inappropriate behavior as we will continue to uphold the standard of maintaining a safe and positive environment for all at the club.”
Riley, in an email to the Athletic, said the allegations were “completely untrue” and “I have never had sex with, or made sexual advances towards these players.”
Attempts to reach Malik, Courage general manager Curt Johnson and NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird for comment Thursday were not immediately successful, but Sara Toussaint, a Wells Fargo sports-marketing executive who is one of several investors to join the the Courage’s ownership group recently, tweeted that she was “shocked, disgusted, disappointed, embarrassed, & livid.”
The NWSL Players Association on Thursday called for any league staff accused of violating the league’s anti-harassment policy, “no matter when it occurred,” to be suspended immediately and that the league “disclose how Paul Riley was hired within (the) NWSL after departing another NWSL Club subsequent to an investigation into abusive conduct” before a collective-bargaining session scheduled for Friday.
The Spirit, the Courage’s opponent Friday, fired coach Richie Burke on Tuesday “for cause” after an independent NWSL investigation verified accusations he created a toxic and abusive environment for his players.
“We will no longer be complicit in a culture of silence that has enabled exploitation and abuse in our league and our sport,” the NWSLPA noted in its statement, adding “the NWSL has failed us.”
The NWSL this year adopted a new anti-harassment policy and Farrelly and Shim asked the league if Riley could be investigated under the new policy but were told Farrelly’s 2015 complaint was “investigated to conclusion,” according to the Athletic.
This story was originally published September 30, 2021 at 10:03 AM with the headline "Update: NC Courage fire Paul Riley after 2 former players accuse him of sexual coercion."
