Former NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird said that during her time running the league, she acted appropriately and didn’t ignore allegations of misconduct made against former Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage manager Paul Riley.
Baird made her first public comments since resigning from her position last year, saying: “If something was brought to me, I followed up on it,” in an interview with ESPN reporter Lisa Salters, as part of the E60 documentary “Truth Be Told: The Fight For Women’s Professional Soccer,” which debuts at 7 p.m. ET on Oct. 4 on ESPN2.
Asked if she would have done anything differently, Baird said: “Well, you know, I could second guess myself a lot. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on this. I’m sure there are things that I could do differently. I think, right now, I made the best decisions I could with the information I had at the time.”
Several of the league’s players contradict Baird’s assessment about her handling of the allegations. Last September, The Athletic reported that ex-Thorns players Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly brought accusations of sexual harassment and coercion against Riley to the team. The Thorns fired Riley in 2015 following an investigation, though the Thorns and the NWSL — then under commissioner Jeff Plush — did not publicly disclose the nature of his firing, and allowed him to be hired by another NWSL team shortly thereafter.
Shortly after publication of the report, Baird issued a statement saying she was “shocked and disgusted to read the new allegations reported in The Athletic.” But San Diego Wave forward Alex Morgan, who was with the Thorns when some of the alleged incidents occurred in 2015, tweeted screenshots of an email exchange between Baird and Farrelly. Farrelly had reached out to Baird in April of 2021, asking that the investigation into Riley be reopened. This was because the Thorns never followed up on allegations Farrelly shared during the club’s 2015 investigation into Riley, and he had continued to coach in the league with the North Carolina Courage.
Baird declined to open the investigation, which took place under Plush, telling Farrelly that “the initial complaint was investigated to conclusion.” Baird closed her response: “Thank you again for your email and I wish you the best.”
On Monday, an independent investigation commissioned by U.S. Soccer cast further doubt about Baird’s response to player complaints. The report, conducted by former U.S. attorney general Sally Yates, said Baird was warned about Riley repeatedly, but up until The Athletic’s report last year, she was eager to keep him from coaching elsewhere.
“In the spring of 2021, the NWSL received a series of four complaints about Riley in quick succession,” the report said. “The League largely ignored the complaints, and instead, weeks before the publication of The Athletic article, NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird was actively trying to keep Riley from resigning over his anger about the post-season schedule.”
