Cydney Grannan
Former Washington Spirit head coach Richie Burke has been fired following a third-party investigation into allegations of harassment, and representatives from the team have been suspended from league governance matters, the National Women’s Soccer League announced Tuesday.
“After considering the substance of the report, and taking into account prior actions of the Spirit, the NWSL’s board of governors has determined that the Spirit and its ownership have failed to act in the best interests of the League,” it said in a release.
In August, The Washington Post reported that former Spirit player Kaiya McCullough and at least three other players left the team in the past two years due to the coach’s treatment. “I was 100 percent in a situation where I was being emotionally abused by Richie,” McCullough told the outlet.
The Spirit reassigned Burke to the team’s front office, citing “health concerns,” while the Post was reporting out the story. The team subsequently said he would be put on leave amid an investigation into whether he had violated the league’s anti-harassment policy.
In September, the Post reported that the investigation had expanded to include an alleged toxic work culture for female employees. The story also brought forth allegations that co-owner Y. Michelle Kang, the first woman to own part of the Spirit, has been sidelined by Steve Baldwin, another co-owner and CEO of the organization.
The NWSL said it will be keeping its investigation confidential to protect the people who spoke to investigators and the integrity of the process.
But citing two people briefed on its contents, the Washington Post reported that the investigation found “multiple violations” of the anti-harassment policy and that Spirit leaders were aware of Burke’s treatment of players, along with allegations that Baldwin hired “unqualified” friends for jobs and had traded multiple Spirit players in retaliation for being disloyal. Baldwin dismissed the idea as “absurd” and defended the trades of Mal Pugh and Rose Lavelle in an email to the Post.
A spokesperson for the Spirit said they are unable to comment on the results of the investigation, and deferred questions about it to the league. NWSL didn’t respond to several questions about the details of the sanctions, but said the Spirit’s upcoming game on Friday against the North Carolina Courage will not be affected.
The team will have two weeks to reply to the investigation, according to NWSL’s announcement.
Kang sent a lengthy email to fan groups and investors on Monday, which was shared publicly by The Athletic reporter Pablo Iglesias Maurer. In it, Kang called on Baldwin to sell his shares to her and step down, something he had allegedly agreed to in August but later changed his mind about.
“I want to express my deep regret to the players and staff who have left the club because of our workplace environment,” she wrote. “The organization should have done better.”
