Former player Mana Shim was elected as the new member of the commission for the prevention of harassment and abuse towards players of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in American women’s soccer.
Shim, one of the first to denounce the network of harassment and abuse that afflicted athletes for a long time, will seek, when presiding over the commission, the cessation of these actions in all associated categories after a recent report showed cases of “abuse systematic at all levels”.
The former player, who denounced in 2021 having suffered abuse and treatment by her then coach at the Portland Thorns, Paul Riley assured that he accepted this position because “there is much to be done to change the culture in soccer” in the United States.
“I love this sport and I think we have an opportunity to protect the players and create new standards for all sports. We have no time to lose, “she added.
The issue of harassment and abuse of athletes was uncovered after the law firm King & Spalding led an independent investigation commissioned by the American Federation of Soccer (USSF).
This investigation revealed a panorama in which verbal and emotional abuse towards female soccer players and inappropriate sexual behavior exceed the limits of “hard” training and are common from the lower to the higher categories.
In the near 200 interviews with retired and active players , coaches, club owners or squad personnel revealed manipulative tactics that were more about abuse of power than game improvement and a worrying pattern of sexual comments, unwanted touching or coercive sexual relations.