Paul Riley plans to “fight” after the NWSL issued permanent bans to him and three other former coaches at the center of the league’s abuse reports, he said Tuesday.
The bans came one month after the NWSL and NWSLPA released the findings of their joint investigation into “widespread misconduct” in the league, and three months after U.S. Soccer released the results from its own investigation into “systemic” abuse and failures by NWSL coaches and executives.
Both reports detailed players’ allegations of sexual coercion and harassment against the former Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage coach.
“We have a lot of plans ahead to fight a lot of things,” Riley said in a text message Tuesday to WRAL News. “Absolutely never had any intention of coaching in NWSL again. The political, woke, cancel culture of the league says it all.”
The 59-year-old did not specify what he planned to fight, though he has denied the allegations.
The abuse investigations started after a 2021 report in The Athletic revealed accusations made against Riley in 2015, during his tenure as head coach in Portland. The Thorns fired him after receiving the complaints but kept the reason for his dismissal under wraps publicly, which allowed…
