Merritt Paulson, the owner of the NWSL’s Portland Thorns and MLS’s Portland Timbers, announced he is stepping down as CEO of both clubs “effective immediately.”
The announcement follows the release of the Yates Report, which detailed systemic emotional and verbal abuse, as well as sexual misconduct in the NWSL, including within the Thorns’ organization.
“The Portland Thorns were created to be a beacon of what is possible in women’s sports. A successful team is built on trust, equality and accountability, and today I am holding myself accountable for not doing enough,” Paulson said in a statement on Tuesday.
He also apologized to the Thorns’ players, the organization and the Portland community “for the mistakes we made […] our organization’s failures and mistakes were ultimately my responsibility, and my responsibility alone.”
Paulson had previously announced that he was stepping aside from the Thorns’ day-to-day activities. But his latest statement now makes that move permanent, and the organization will engage in a “global search” for his replacement. His statement made no mention of whether he will sell either the Thorns or the Timbers. For now, the move adds another layer of management between himself and the teams.
The Thorns were featured at numerous points in the Yates report, especially as it related to its handling of sexual misconduct allegations made in 2015 by former players Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly against then-Thorns manager Paul Riley. The allegations were first reported by The Athletic.
“I owe Sinead and Mana, the Thorns players and the NWSL my tireless effort to actively make sure what happened in 2015 never happens again,” Paulson said.
But there was more to the Thorns’ involvement than what Riley is alleged to have done. While the Thorns terminated Riley for cause, the report detailed how the club publicly described the manager’s departure as a nonrenewal of a contract due to results, and Riley’s desire to return to the East Coast. Riley later received a positive job referral from Thorns’ president of soccer Gavin Wilkinson when Riley applied for the managerial opening with the Western New York Flash in 2016. Paulson was quoted in the report as saying to the Flash after Riley was hired, “Congrats on the Riley hire. I have a lot of affection for him.”
ESPN recently reported that in 2019, when Riley was put on a short list for the vacant manager’s position with the U.S. women’s national team, Paulson told North Carolina Courage owner Steve Malik that it would be “a good idea” if Riley withdrew. Otherwise the manner of his departure from the Thorns might become public. Riley withdrew from consideration shortly thereafter.
