Less than 24 hours after a scathing report detailing abuse in women’s soccer was released, U.S. women’s national soccer team captain Becky Sauerbrunn answered the question she knew was coming.
“The players are not doing well,” she said from London ahead of Friday’s USWNT-England game at Wembley.
The U.S. Soccer-commissioned report, which was conducted by former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Q. Yates and the law firm King & Spalding, found that emotional abuse and sexual misconduct are systemic in women’s soccer.
“We are horrified and heartbroken and frustrated and exhausted and really, really angry,” Sauerbrunn continued. “We are angry that it took a third-party investigation. We are angry that it took an article in the Athletic and the Washington Post and numerous others.
“We’re angry that it took over 200 people sharing their trauma to get to this point, right now. And we’re angry that it took Mana (Shim) and Sinead (Farrelly) and Erin (Simon) and Kaiya (McCullough) and Alex (Morgan) and Christen (Press) and Sam (Johnson) to repeatedly ask people in authority to take their abuse and their concerns seriously.”
Sauerbrunn went on to say she believes “every owner and executive and U.S. Soccer official who has repeatedly failed the players, and failed to protect the players, and have not participated fully in these investigations should be gone.”
Sauerbrunn, who plays in the NWSL for the Portland Thorns, was later asked to confirm that that includes Thorns/Timbers CEO and owner Merritt Paulson.
“It includes everyone that has continued to fail the players time and time again,” she said.
The Yates report detailed how Paulson failed to take action and continued to support former Thorns head coach Paul Riley after Riley was accused of harassment and sexual coercion. Portland’s President of Soccer, Gavin Wilkinson, accused the player who raised the complaint of “putting Riley in a bad position” and said that he would “hire (Riley) in a heartbeat,” while President of Business Mike Golub has been accused of creating a disrespectful work environment that was especially toxic for women and working mothers.
Even current U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone experienced this environment. She told investigators that in 2013, while serving as Portland Thorns coach, Golub asked her, “What’s on your bucket list besides sleeping with me?”
The Yates report also notes that the Thorns were uncooperative with their investigation, despite making public statements to the contrary.
“The Portland Thorns interfered with our access to relevant witnesses and raised specious legal arguments in an attempt to impede our use of relevant documents,” the report says.
In addition to the U.S. Soccer-commissioned Yates report, a joint investigation from the NWSL and NWSL Players Association will be released later this year.
Shortly before Sauerbrunn began speaking, Paulson issued a statement saying that, effective today, he is removing himself from all Thorns-related decision making until the NWSL/NWSLPA joint investigation is published, and that Wilkinson and Golub will do the same.
That said, Paulson’s statement included no indication that he plans to sell the team or remove himself from the Portland Timbers operations.
USWNT defender Alana Cook, who joined Sauerbrunn for Tuesday’s media session, expressed her disappointment that so much of this has fallen to the players.
“It shouldn’t be on us any longer,” Cook said. “We deserve an environment where we get to go out and play and enjoy doing what we do. And we deserve to be in an environment that’s safe and protects that joy.”
The USWNT and England met today at Wembley Stadium in a friendly for the ages. On Her Turf provided live updates of the match, which England won 2-1. See below to relive how the game unfolded.
USA vs. England — Live Updates from the First Half
Players from England and the United States are wearing teal armbands to “stand in solidarity with sexual violence survivors.” Prior to kickoff, both teams came together to pose for a photo with a “Protect the Players” banner. (In addition there was also a moment of silence for the recent stadium stampede in Indonesia, where 125 people died and hundreds were injured.)
10′: England scores! Lauren Hemp taps the ball past U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher (video below).
England takes the 1-0 lead at Wembley ? pic.twitter.com/p5E12yNFsf
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) October 7, 2022
20′: Oof. A couple of rough collisions so far today, including just now as U.S. defender Emily Fox took a shoulder to the face. She gets subbed out and is replaced by Hailie Mace.
28′: The U.S. equalizes! Lindsey Horan does a great job of forcing a turnover and gets the ball to Sophia Smith, who finds the back of the net (video below).
.@sophsssmith gets us level!!!! pic.twitter.com/Y8e1TTkDOz
— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) October 7, 2022
32′: After VAR review, U.S. defender Hailie Mace is given a yellow card for a high boot and England is awarded a penalty. Georgia Stanway converts, with U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher diving in the wrong direction (video below).
The Lionesses are back on top thanks to Georgia Stanway from the spot! ? pic.twitter.com/QOqLiUP9JC
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) October 7, 2022
36′: And the U.S. equalizes — again! Trinity Rodman makes it 2-2. Megan Rapinoe does a great job of bringing defender Lucy Bronze to the far post and slipping the ball over to Rodman.
38′: SCRATCH THAT. Rodman’s goal is called back due to an offsides ruling. A very surprising, and honestly, very confusing call. England leads 2-1 again.
And even Alex Morgan (who is out with a knee injury) is weighing in on the “offside” call. Glad I’m not the only one who is confused…
The “offside” call……… pic.twitter.com/rOywlghNcp
— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) October 7, 2022
45+3′: And that’s the half. England leads 2-1. Some rough moments out there — both physically and tactically — but also a lot of positive takeaways for both teams. The USWNT should take some confidence in the goal that could’ve (should’ve?) been. Plus, given the very inexperienced lineup — and all they’ve been through in recent days — it felt like the pieces were starting to come together out there as the half continued.
60′: Megan Rapinoe takes a shot, which is deflected by an England defender. The U.S. is definitely upping the pressure this half.
63′: And Crystal Dunn and Sam Coffey are subbing in for the USWNT. It’s Dunn’s first appearance for the USWNT since giving birth to her son in May.
This is Coffey’s first time traveling internationally with the USWNT. I caught up with her ahead of the Portland Thorns’ final regular season game last week and the NWSL rookie told me she is excited to learn as much as she can from the experience.
68′: England making a substitution of its own as Ella Toone comes in for Fran Kirby.
74′: Wow. Naomi Girma, for the second time tonight, outsprinting an England forward to reach to a critical ball before her opponent. Girma, an NWSL rookie with the San Diego Wave, made her USWNT debut earlier this year.
81′: After initially awarding the USWNT a penalty for an England handball, the call is (rightfully!) overturned on VAR review.
83′: And 17-year-old Alyssa Thompson is subbing into the game, along with Becky Sauerbrunn and Ashley Sanchez.
Thomas, a high school senior who plays club soccer for the U-17 Total Futbol Academy boys’ team, earns her first USWNT cap by replacing Megan Rapinoe, who is more than twice her age.
Alyssa Thompson, 17, subs in for Megan Rapinoe, 37.
Rapinoe was… 19 years, 4 months old when Thompson was born. #USWNT
— Alex Azzi (@AlexAzziNBC) October 7, 2022
90 + 4′: And that’s the match. England wins 2-1.
A couple post-game thoughts: England definitely looked like the stronger team today (as evidenced by their 69% possession percentage, in addition to the 2-1 score). Still, a lot of positive takeaways for the USWNT, especially given their less experienced lineup and the tumultuous week following the release of the Yates report.
I can’t get over how composed Naomi Girma looked out in just her eighth cap for the USWNT.
The final attendance at Wembley was 76,893 — so lower than anticipated and no doubt hampered by the soggy conditions. Still marks the biggest crowd to attend a USWNT friendly, though.
Today’s game should be the USWNT’s toughest test in over a year, as the reigning World Cup champions take on the 2022 European Champions. Still, the match comes at the end of a tumultuous week for the women’s soccer community, following the release of the U.S. Soccer-commissioned Yates report on Monday.
“The players are not doing well,” USWNT captain Becky Sauerbrunn said Tuesday. “We are horrified and heartbroken and frustrated and exhausted and really, really angry.”
The juxtaposition of Monday’s report and Friday’s historic game — which is expected to break multiple attendance records (more below) — is especially tough.
“Just to have to deal with that on such an incredible occasion, to be here at Wembley and be able to participate in this game, which is so exciting — the juxtaposition is ridiculous,” USWNT and OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe said Thursday.
Fans in the United States can watch the USWNT vs. England on FOX. The pre-game broadcast begins at 2:30pm ET and the match kicks off at 3pm ET (8pm local).
Alyssa Naeher, Alana Cook, Trinity Rodman, Sofia Huerta, Lindsey Horan (C), Sophia Smith, Naomi Girma, Megan Rapinoe, Rose Lavelle, Andi Sullivan, Emily Fox
The Wembley XI ??
— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) October 7, 2022
Mary Earps, Lucy Bronze, Rachel Daly, Keira Walsh, Millie Bright (C), Alex Greenwood, Beth Mead, Georgia Stanway, Lauren Hemp, Fran Kirby, Chloe Kelly
Ready to take on USA! ✊ pic.twitter.com/u63H66CXAc
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) October 7, 2022
General admission tickets for today’s USA-ENG match sold out in 15 minutes, making it the fastest sellout in women’s soccer history. More than 80,000 fans are expected to pack into Wembley to watch the USWNT vs. England on Friday. Here are a few of the attendance records to keep an eye on.
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The Rugby World Cup, the premier event in women’s union 15s, begins this week in New Zealand and continues through the championship on November 12. Originally scheduled for 2021, the quadrennial competition was pushed back a year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Host New Zealand enters as the defending champion, while the U.S. will be aiming to return to the podium for the first time since 1998.
This year marks the first time the women’s tournament will be held under a gender-neutral name; in 2019, World Rugby announced that it would remove the word “women’s” from the World Cup name in order to match the non-gender-marked (men’s) World Cup.
See below for a brief overview of the tournament format and info on how to watch every Rugby World Cup game. This guide will be updated throughout the tournament.
The 12-team tournament begins with round-robin pool play. The three pools are as follows:
After pool play, the top two teams in each group — along with the two best third-place teams — will advance to the quarterfinals. The tournament progresses using a single-elimination bracket format.
Fans in the United States can stream every game live on Peacock, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app. Some games will also air on CNBC.
Friday night, October 7 into Saturday morning, October 8:
Saturday night, October 8 into Sunday morning, October 9:
Sunday, October 9:
Friday night, October 14 into Saturday morning, October 15:
Saturday, October 15 into Sunday morning, October 16:
Friday night, October 21 into Saturday morning, October 22:
Saturday night, October 22 into Sunday morning, October 23:
Sunday, October 23:
Friday night, October 28 into Saturday morning, October 29:
Saturday night, October 29 into Sunday morning, October 30:
Friday night, November 4 into Saturday morning, October 5:
Saturday, November 5:
Friday night, November 11 into Saturday morning, October 12:
Saturday, November 12: