Eimear Ryan: Women are getting justice - but what they need is protection

Paul Riley former head coach of North Carolina Courage talks with the team. He denies the allegations against him. Picture: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Noted Bantry basketball supporter Emily Ratajkowski has been in the news lately, though not for her sponsorship of the West Cork club. The model and actress is about to publish a book of autobiographical essays called My Body, an extract from which appeared in last weekend’s Sunday Times. In the piece, she recalled her experience on the set of the music video ‘Blurred Lines’, in which she alleges that singer Robin Thicke groped her without her consent.

You probably know the video: three men in suits — Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and the rapper T.I. — look on while three scantily-clad women, including Ratajkowski, dance around with props including oversized furry dice, a toy car, a live lamb, and a bale of hay.

The power dynamics of the video were considered dodgy even when it came out in 2013, so Ratajkowski’s revelation in the post-#MeToo era comes as no surprise. At the time, defenders of the video cited the fact that it was directed by a woman and was intended to celebrate women’s empowerment. But as Ratajkowski wrote: “With that one gesture, Robin Thicke had reminded everyone on set that we women weren’t actually in charge … I was nothing more than the hired mannequin.”

It’s a dismaying truth that having a woman in charge does not necessarily make the workplace a safe space for women. Sometimes, as in Ratajkowski’s case, it’s because men cross the line anyway; other times, as in the case of the National Women’s Soccer League, it’s because the woman in charge chooses to protect the men around her rather than the women below her.

Until now, the NWSL has been a beacon in women’s professional sports worldwide. After several attempts to establish a pro women’s soccer league in the US folded after a few seasons due to lack of interest or money, the NWSL emerged, and is now in its ninth season. The league is home to household names like Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, and Alex Morgan, and games are broadcast regularly on CBS. But this past weekend, all fixtures were cancelled as the league was rocked by reports of abusive behaviour by male coaches — and of negligence by the league’s commissioner, Lisa Baird, who failed to protect players when concerns were raised.

The scandal kicked off (forgive me) on September 28 when the league announced that Richie Burke, coach of the Washington Spirit, had been fired for making threats and personal insults towards players, and was no longer allowed to work in the NWSL. Two days later, the North Carolina Courage announced that they had fired their coach, Paul Riley, after accusations of sexual coercion and verbal abuse. (He denies the allegations).

It later emerged that Riley had been fired from his previous coaching job with the Portland Thorns in 2015 under similar murky circumstances; however, these violations were never made public, and Riley was free to get another job in the league.

Then came the smoking gun. While Baird released a press release announcing Riley’s firing and emphasising the league’s commitment to anti-harassment policies, emails came to light showing that Baird had previously dismissed the concerns of Sinead Farrelly, a former Portland Thorns player, about Riley’s conduct. In April of this year, Farrelly described to Baird the abuse she experienced while being coached by Riley, adding: “I am deeply concerned for the safety of current players given that Mr Riley continues to coach in the NWSL.”

Baird dismissed Farrelly’s concerns, saying that the complaint against Riley was “investigated to conclusion” and that she could not share any additional details.

Screenshots of these emails were then tweeted by Alex Morgan, star of the US national women’s team, who has a following of 3.8 million. The outrage was immediate and fierce. “Burn it all down,” tweeted Megan Rapinoe. “Let all their heads roll.” Baird didn’t have a leg to stand on, and resigned last weekend.

Having a female commissioner is no doubt a good PR move for a women’s pro league like the NWSL, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that the league is therefore women-led. Men tend to own, operate, and coach the teams; at the beginning of this season, only two of the league’s 10 head coach positions were held by women. It’s also the case that players’ contracts are much less secure than in the men’s league. The aforementioned stars like Rapinoe, Lloyd, and Morgan earn six figures annually, but many of their colleagues earn closer to $30,000. While a prominent star would have plenty of options if they found working with a certain coach untenable, ordinary players don’t have that luxury.

We are in the midst of a reckoning about abuse in sport. Last month, Simone Biles and her fellow gymnasts McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, and Maggie Nichols testified to Congress about the abuse they suffered at the hands of former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2018.

Biles began her statement by summarising her incredible achievements in sport, before adding: “I am also a survivor of sexual abuse, and I believe, without a doubt, that the circumstances that led to my abuse and allowed it to continue are directly the result of the fact that the organisations created by Congress to oversee and protect me as an athlete — USA Gymnastics, and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee — failed to do their jobs.”

Worse than that, USA Gymnastics — the organisation that Biles won medals for, broke records for — covered up that abuse. When you consider the trauma and betrayal Biles has gone through in her short life — she is still only 24 — it casts her decision to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics in a much different light.

The gymnasts’ bravery is astonishing, and they’ve shown other athletes — the players of the NWSL and others — that it’s possible to get justice. But really, what they should have had from the start was protection.