NWSL bans former Gotham FC coach for life, suspends former GM in wake of investigation

The National Women’s Soccer League on Monday levied sanctions — including individual bans, years-long suspensions and hefty fines — against several entities in the league in the wake of a joint investigation with the players association last month.

The sanctions are widespread, and include ties to New Jersey’s professional women's soccer club, Gotham FC. Former coach Christy Holly is permanently banned from the league, and former general manager Alyse LaHue faces a two-year suspension with future employment in the league conditional. Gotham FC, which is partly owned by New Jersey’s first family, Tammy and Phil Murphy, also faces a fine of at least $50,000 by the league.

“The league will continue to prioritize implementing and enhancing the policies, programs and systems that put the health and safety of our players first,” the league’s commissioner Jessica Berman said in a statement. “Those actions are fundamental to the future of our league, especially as we build a league that strengthens our players’ ability to succeed and prosper on and off the pitch.

“As part of our commitment to accountability and deterrence, the league has determined that further corrective action with respect to certain organizations and individuals identified in the Joint Investigative Report is appropriate and necessary,” she said.

These sanctions are the latest in a years-long reckoning after delayed accountability in the NWSL. Reports about player mistreatment in the fall of 2021 set off a series of player protests and investigations into what turned out to to be rampant misconduct that stemmed from systemic failures in American soccer.

“A new NWSL begins today,” said NWSLPA President Tori Huster in a statement. “No sanction will ever be enough to undo the harm that too many players endured. By taking our power back, players have achieved a complete and total overhaul of the NWSL ecosystem, from the league office to club ownership and staff, with new policies and systems in place to protect player safety.”

The penalties, as outlined by the league, are based on a tiered system that takes into account several factors, including the severity of misconduct. All fines collected will be used to cover system reforms and to augment the lives of players through things like expanding mental health resources, rebuilding culture and enhancing coaching education and development, the league said.

Holly is one of four former NWSL coaches now permanently banned from the league. Others include Paul Riley, Rory Dames and Richie Burke. Holly’s misconduct was first revealed in the Yates report published in October.

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Though Holly’s time with the New Jersey club was brief, his tenure was plagued with complaints of verbal abuse, mistreatment and allegations of a toxic team environment, according to the Yates report. Holly was asked to leave the team abruptly midseason in 2017 because of his “verbal abuse” and “relationship with a player.” At the time, however, the club said Holly and the team agreed to part ways mutually.

The former coach went on to work for the U.S. Soccer Federation, allegedly unchecked, before being signed as head coach of Racing Louisville of the NWSL years later, where his patterns of abuse persisted. Then, a more serious complaint surfaced that Holly allegedly sexually coerced a Louisville player.

LaHue, who was fired in July 2021, is ineligible to work in the NWSL in any capacity for two years, until Jan. 9, 2025.

To qualify for future employment, the league said LaHue must acknowledge wrongdoing, accept personal responsibility for inappropriate conduct, take part in training and demonstrate a sincere commitment to correcting behavior. These conditions must be met “at the satisfaction of the Commissioner in her complete discretion,” the league said.

LaHue has long denied any wrongdoing with relation to her firing by Gotham FC. Conditions around her dismissal remained largely under wraps until the release of the joint investigation by the NWSL and NWSLPA last month. In the joint investigative report, it was revealed that LaHue allegedly sent inappropriate texts to a player. The messages included: “You were in my dream last night. Getting a massage” and “Rarely so well behaved in my dreams.”

The messages continued even after the player pushed back, according to the report. The interaction later escalated to the point where other players began to notice LaHue being “mean” to this player. According to the investigation, other members of the team said LaHue paid special attention this player, and other staff members suggested that LaHue always had a “high interest” in the player. The league said that, based on its evidence, LaHue’s actions constituted misconduct.

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The league said in its joint investigation that it was unable to fully question LaHue about her interactions with this player, and that LaHue’s counsel described the allegations against her as “false claims.”

In its statement on Monday, the NWSLPA alluded to this being a fresh start for a league long plagued by systemic failings that enabled rampant misconduct since its inception in 2013.

Players' demands for accountability came to a head on Oct. 6, 2021, when players across the entire league stopped play in the sixth minute of each NWSL game in support of players who spoke out in reports published by The Athletic and The Washington Post, as well as to demand change. This action led to publishing of the Yates report commissioned by U.S. Soccer and released in October 2022, and the joint investigative report that was published last month.

“The truth is in the report. True accountability is found in the actions that have been taken thus far, and just as importantly, in the choices people in positions of power make moving forward,” said NWSLPA's executive cirector Meghann Burke. “Now, it is time to realize the transformation.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NWSL investigation: Former Gotham FC coach banned for life