Former players have accused three-time NWSL champion and two-time Coach of the Year Paul Riley of sexual coercion and inappropriate comments that span decades and multiple teams, The Athletic's Meg Linehan and Katie Strang reported Thursday.

Hours after the report, the NWSL and North Carolina Courage, where Riley has coached since 2017, announced the club had fired Riley, effective immediately. NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird issued a statement regarding "new allegations" and announcing an investigation, which two-time World Cup champion Alex Morgan quickly pushed back on with apparent email receipts of Baird's knowledge of the incidents.

The Athletic report details instances of sexual harassment, misconduct, intimidation and inappropriate remarks about players' weight and sexual orientation. Riley, currently head coach of the North Carolina Courage, reportedly blurred the lines between work and personal life consistently, using it to coerce certain players into sexual encounters. Two players, Sinead Farrelly and Meleana "Mana" Shim, went on the record with their allegations and spoke of trauma involved with playing under the coach.

NWSL coach fired after reported sexual coercion

The statement by the North Carolina Courage is signed, "players, staff and principal owner of the North Carolina Courage."

NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird said in a statement she was "shocked and disgusted to read the new allegations." She said the the league will report them to the US Center for SafeSport to investigate and will implement a new anonymous reporting process.

Baird said the league will also mandate league and team staff who regularly interact with players take US Center for SafeSport training and undergo mandatory background checks and additional screening.

"We ask our players and all associated with the league to raise their concerns to us, as we continue to make our league a safe, positive, and respectful environment for our players, clubs, staff and fans," she said in a statement.

It follows a slew of allegations and investigations within the NWSL ranks, and within the soccer community. Only two days prior, the NWSL announced that former Washington Spirit coach Richie Burke had been fired after investigations into verbal abuse.

Alex Morgan pushes back on Lisa Baird's statement

The Athletic also spoke with U.S. women's national team star Alex Morgan, who played for Riley in Portland, who confirmed the players' stories and actively tried to help them report the allegations.

Following Baird's statement of "new allegations" and an investigation, Morgan shared screenshots of emails to the league regarding the allegations and Baird's non-response. They were initially shared in part by The Athletic.

"The league was informed of these allegations multiple times and refused multiple times to investigate the allegations," Morgan wrote in a Tweet. "The league must accept responsibility for a process that failed to protect its own players from abuse."

Morgan shared a screenshot of the email sent by Farrelly dated April 28, 2021, to Baird and the HR office email account. The complaint followed the new anti-harassment policy the league instituted and brought attention to the 2015 report made by Farrelly.

The former player wrote she was concerned for "the safety of current players given that Mr. Riley continues to coach in the NWSL." And it asked what steps the league will take about her initial report, "given the apparent failure of the NWSL to take any action to protect players in response to the initial complaint."

In a follow-up email sent one week later and shared by Morgan, Baird responded that she reviewed the files and the "initial complaint was investigated to conclusion. Unfortunately, I cannot share any details." It was left at that. The Athletic reporters said when they informed Baird of their reporting on Riley, she chose not to respond.

Megan Rapinoe called the statement by Baird "beyond disrespectful."

The NWSL Players Association immediately released a statement after The Athletic report came out calling for an investigation and voicing support of players who have recently voiced allegations against coaches.

"NWSL has failed us," the statement reads. "We are taking our power back."

Paul Riley allegations

The Athletic spoke with players from every team Riley coached since 2010. Farrelly detailed a control she felt Riley had over her, so much so that she even turned down a roster spot with the USWNT ahead of the 2011 World Cup. She said the coach told her she had been disloyal to him and her teammates by leaving for an earlier camp, even though she didn't miss a match.

One player on Riley's former Philadelphia Independence roster told The Athletic there was a "sense that he wants to control your life outside of the stadium as well." He would reportedly hold team retreats at his large Long Island home, insisting the entire team hang out there and not leave, and he would often pay for bar tabs during long nights out drinking.

After a night out drinking following a loss in the 2011 WPS final, the team piled into a passenger van to head back to the hotel. Farrelly told The Athletic she had to sit on Riley's lap in the back of the van and he grabbed her hips, a move she felt crossed the line.

Via The Athletic:

That night, Farrelly said she felt Riley coerced her into having sex with him and he told her "we're taking this to our graves." In another incident, Farrelly and Shim said Riley forced them to kiss each other at his apartment and told them if they did, the team wouldn't have to run a suicide mile drill at practice.

"This guy has a pattern," Shim told The Athletic.

Morgan tried helping Shim file reports on the ongoing behavior she experienced, but they struggled to do so anonymously. When they emailed a complaint in 2015, an HR rep said Shim didn't have a legal claim because she couldn't produce corroborating evidence like text messages, which Riley urged her to delete. He is contract was not renewed by the Portland Thorns, but as has been the case in recent weeks, there was no mention of inappropriate behavior.

The Thorns released a statement 15 minutes before the NWSL's stating that there "is much in the article that we are first hearing about now."

The Thorns reiterated, as they had to The Athletic, that their investigation in 2015 did not show lawful activity but did "uncover clear violations of our company policies" and hence the firing. They reiterated they "fully shared" all findings with the league office.

NWSL Players issues demands, deadlines

The NWSL Players Association issued a statement that demanded for an independent investigation into the allegations. They also demanded in the statement that any league of club staff accused of conduct violating the anti-harassment policy put in place last spring be suspended immediately. Their final demand was that the league explain how Riley was hired again after leaving the Thorns due to an investigation into abusive coaching.

They set deadlines for all of it as Friday at 12 p.m. ET.

"Words cannot adequately capture our anger, pain, sadness and disappointment," the NWSL Players statement read.

The association and the NWSL are currently in negotiations for the league's first collective bargaining agreement. NWSL Players launched a #NoMoreSideHustles campaign in July highlighting low wages and the players lack of control over their soccer careers.

USWNT players speak out

Soccer players are coming out on Twitter with statements of support and demands for the NWSL to do better in the aspect of culture and player safety.

Morgan tweeted supported immediately after the story.

"I am sickened and have too many thoughts to share at this moment," she wrote. "Bottom line: protect your players. Do the right thing NWSL."

USWNT defender Becky Sauerbrunn also issued a long statement.

It read in part:

U.S. Soccer, meanwhile, announced it has suspended Riley's coaching license:

The NWSL is in its ninth season and is scheduled to play this season's championship in late November. While the USWNT is popular and brings in big TV ratings, the NWSL and leagues prior have not been able to break through the common struggles of a new sports entity and particularly the ingrained sexism that comes with a women's league.

The allegations against Riley are only the latest of many against NWSL coaches and personnel this season. Linehan and Strang explained well why players have been silent for so long on the "Full Time with Meg Linehan" podcast.