Chicago Red Stars Owners Issue Statement After Abuse Allegations Against Ex-Coach

The Chicago Red Stars owners released a statement Tuesday in the aftermath of a report from Molly Hensley-Clancy of the Washington Post that detailed multiple players' assertions that former head coach Rory Dames was verbally and emotionally abusive.

Dames resigned after Chicago lost to the Washington Spirit in Saturday's NWSL championship.

The statement was apologetic for the team's lack of actions after players came forward with concerns as early as 2014:

"We apologize to Christen Press, Jennifer Hoy, Samantha Johnson and those players who didn't feel safe to come forward, and we are deeply sorry for the pain they endure. "

"As the owners of the Chicago Red Stars, we commit to holding ourselves accountable and to doing better. There is no place for any type of abuse in women's sports.  The fact that it happened here, despite the belief that we had mechanisms in place to prevent it, means our club will require significant reflection and evaluation to ensure this does not happen again."

It also explained the team will seek out players' feedback in the search for a new coach and use stricter interview practices and background checks while vetting candidates.

"The Chicago Red Stars are motivated to be a part of positive change for the NWSL while also recognizing the ways in which we have contributed to a culture that did not sufficiently prioritize the health and safety of our players, and we commit to ensuring this team succeeds in years to come by being a player-centric organization," the statement continued.

Hensley-Clancy reported "players had seen Rory Dames cross a line into what they believed was verbal and emotional abuse: controlling, berating and humiliating players, and breaking the boundaries of the player-coach relationship."

Press, who played for the Red Stars from 2014 to 2017, said she raised concerns about Dames during a meeting with former president of U.S. Soccer Sunil Gulati in 2014.

"Gulati dismissed her concerns, Press recalled, by saying Dames's behavior was normal for a professional coach," Hensley-Clancy wrote. "Press, who said she had been told she needed to play in the NWSL to keep her spot on the national team, said she felt she had no choice but to return the next season."

While Dames kept his job, Press, who was one of multiple players who raised concerns about the coach, eventually filed a formal complaint about him with U.S. Soccer.

Yet he kept his job once again.

"He asserts control like you’re a little girl, not an adult woman—when you can go out to a concert, when you can say something or you can’t say something, when you can see your family," Press said. "It felt like it's a disrespect that is related to gender."

Hensley-Clancy noted Dames makes five male NWSL coaches who have been accused of misconduct in 2021 alone.

The NWSL Players Association reacted to the latest story by saying "nothing short of a complete transformation of our league will suffice":

In October, the NWSLPA released the following list of demands with the message: "Systemic transformation is not something you say. It is something you do. We, as players, are continuing our efforts to end the culture of silence and ask fans to stand with us as we demand the following."

The league announced it would start "several critical investigative and reform initiatives to protect players and staff, and the environments in which athletes live, train, and compete to give athletes the agency and ability to safely report misconduct of any form."