Men of Influence magazine


O’Reilly, a World Cup winner in 2015 and three-time Olympic gold medallist, played the last two seasons of her career under Riley at North Carolina, winning back-to-back NWSL championships.

“He was certainly the man in charge of the club,” said O’Reilly, 36. “He was in control of every facet of the club. He was the manager [coach] but if you had a complaint about ownership or the physio, you went to Paul.

“That lack of checks and balances I think is what helped spur this problem, because no one individual should have that power. Nobody should be dealing with playing time and also contracts, and health and wellness. It’s just dangerous.

“There should have been better outlets for these two women, in particular, to be able to speak and not feel like they’d be penalised for it. They were worried for their jobs and careers.”

Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim both spoke on record as part of an investigation by The Athletic, who spoke to more than a dozen players Riley had coached since 2010.

On Monday, Portland Thorns owner Merritt Paulson said Riley had been suspended in 2015 after a complaint over his behaviour and that the club shared the results of its investigation with the NWSL at the time.

But he felt they had been “opaque” with the public over the issue, adding: “I deeply regret our role in what is clearly a systemic failure across women’s professional soccer.”



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