As NWSL players return to the field, Washington Spirit players call on team’s lead owner to sell

The National Women’s Soccer League will return to the field Wednesday, but the fallout from allegations of player abuse is expected to continue, with players demanding widespread change from a league they say has failed to protect them.

On Tuesday, Washington Spirit CEO and controlling owner Steve Baldwin announced he would step down, ceding to a call from Spirit players that he resign following allegations of a toxic workplace and abuse by the team’s former coach that were reported by The Washington Post.

But Spirit players pushed for even more, taking the remarkable step of issuing a unified call Tuesday night for Baldwin to sell his stake in the club to his female co-owner, Michele Kang, and saying he had not gone far enough in giving up control of the team by stepping down. He retained his seat on the team’s three-person board of directors and appointed his successor, Ben Olsen, in a decision that players criticized given Olsen’s lack of experience in the women’s game.

“[Y]ou have always said you intended to hand the team over to female ownership. That moment is now,” the players wrote.

The NWSL’s commissioner, Lisa Baird, stepped down Friday. But protests from fans were held at several stadiums this weekend, with a large display in Portland, Ore., calling for the resignation of a team executive, and in the stands of several Major League Soccer games. And players have continued to speak out, with superstar Alex Morgan appearing on NBC’s “Today” on Tuesday alongside two former teammates, Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly, who both said they had been abused by their former coach.

“Players are achieving what the NWSL couldn’t figure out,” Meghann Burke, the executive director of the players’ union, told The Post. “That’s what it means to take our power back.”

The players ground the league to a halt last week after two coaches were fired for player abuse within days. A story in the Athletic detailed how North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley allegedly sexually coerced players, including compelling Farrelly and Shim to kiss in front of him to avoid having to do a conditioning exercise, as well as multiple failures by the league and teams to hold him accountable. (Riley has denied the claims.) Two days earlier, Spirit coach Richie Burke was fired following an investigation into allegations of verbal and emotional abuse.

On Sunday, the NWSL announced the formation of a three-woman executive committee to lead the league as it searches for a new commissioner, as well as investigations led by a former prosecutor. But on Twitter, Margaret Purce, a prominent U.S. national team player and NWSL leader, called the changes “not nearly enough.”

The players’ association said in a statement Tuesday that players had decided to resume games but that “our demands will be forthcoming.” More is expected from players as games begin Wednesday with the Spirit facing Gotham FC in Chester, Pa.

In a sign of how deeply the allegations of player mistreatment have penetrated the league, all but one team set to play Wednesday has had a coach or other top executive released for misconduct. North Carolina will face Racing Louisville, whose male coach, Christy Holly, was fired this summer. Gotham fired its former general manager, Alyse LaHue, in July for violating the league’s anti-harassment policy. (LaHue denied the allegations, which were not made public.)

In Portland, where Riley formerly coached, the Thorns will play at home against Houston. The Athletic reported that the Thorns had been made aware of some of Riley’s behavior and had not renewed his contract in part because of it. But in a public statement in 2015, the Thorns only thanked Riley for his service to the club.

Fans gathered outside Providence Park on Saturday night, with many calling for the ouster of the team’s general manager, Gavin Wilkinson. They carried signs with the names of Shim, Farrelly and Kaiya McCullough, the former Washington Spirit player who spoke to The Post about alleged verbal abuse and racially insensitive comments by Burke, the team’s former coach.

The league has promised to investigate the circumstances under which Riley left the Thorns and his hiring months later by another NWSL team - the Western New York Flash, which later became the North Carolina Courage. Thorns owner Merritt Paulson also said the team would conduct its own investigation.

US Soccer, which until recently played a role in operating the NWSL, said it would launch its own investigation led by former acting attorney general Sally Yates, and FIFA, the sport’s international governing body, also said it would investigate.

Players in the NWSL have long felt pressure not to speak up about abuse and misconduct in a league that is just 10 years old and has sometimes been on fragile financial footing. But the allegations last week against Riley and previous revelations of abuse caused an outcry among players, including sharp criticism of league leadership. Star U.S. national team player Megan Rapinoe called on Twitter to “burn it all down.”

“[W]hat’s happening in this league is sickening,” wrote one young national team star, the Thorns’ Sophia Smith, on Twitter. “[A]s a young player it’s a scary and intimidating feeling to never know who’s looking out for you or who you can trust. [T]he bare minimum is being asked of the league to protect its players, and they can’t even do that.”

In a previous letter calling for Baldwin to step down, Spirit players said they had been “inspired by players, both former and current, who have had the courage to speak up lately about what they have experienced and what they believe. We think our voices matter in this.”