U.S. Soccer Federation president Cindy Parlow Cone said that additional allegations of abuse have come to light since the publication of the Yates Report last Monday.
Cone made the disclosure of at least three additional cases in a pair of interviews with CNN. According to CNN’s report, Cone didn’t provide any additional details, but said the cases have been passed on to the U.S. Center for SafeSport.
“One of the great things to come out of this report is that it is encouraging more people to come forward,” Parlow Cone said during separate interviews with CNN’s Brianna Keilar on “New Day” and Amanda Davies on CNN “World Sport.”
The investigation, which was a year in the making and included interviews with 200 people, revealed that abuse and misconduct in the NWSL — including verbal and emotional abuse and sexual misconduct — had become systemic, spanning multiple teams, coaches, and victims.
The report added that “Abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women’s soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coaching and blurs boundaries between coaches and players.”
While a culture of silence and indifference permeated reports of misconduct in the past, Cone said she hoped that people felt safe to come forward and report instances of abuse, adding: “We’re not going to be able to root it out unless more brave people come forward to tell us.”
Parlow Cone, a former U.S. international, herself reported an incident of sexual harassment during her time as manager of the Portland Thorns.
She has said she reported the incident when she was leaving the franchise.
“Society needs to change as well, and evolve, and to make it safer for women to come forward to complain about this in the workplace or on a team,” she said.
“This is going to be a long process. It’s not going to be a quick fix.”
