Anyone who follows the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is probably aware of the current events surrounding Richie Burke. If you aren’t caught up, you can read my previous article on the situation. Basically, many players are not receiving the rights they deserve. However, this is not a new concept. So, here’s what the Richie Burke scandal is really telling us about the NWSL.
Burke was appointed as head coach of the Washington Spirit in early 2019, and with his resignation in 2021, he did not hold that position long. It leads many of us to wonder why. Before allegations surfaced revealing his history of using abusive and homophobic language towards youth players, Burke had a past. He was able to outride previous accusations of calling teenage boys rude terms. The club announced an investigation into the claims but found no credible evidence against Burke. He was able to come out of the situation as an innocent party. Now, however, we know that may not have been true.
Now that Burke is being called out by women football(soccer) players, his inappropriate, abusive, and sometimes racially insensitive comments are publicly known. Allegedly, Burke suggested the Spirits place a white practice dummy underneath tier legs when kneeling for a photograph as part of “Black Lives Matter”. Kaiya McCullough, who I discussed more in my last post, had a lot to say about Burke. Her statements support many of these allegations as well.
“I was 100 percent in a situation where I was being emotionally abused by Richie. He created this environment where I knew I wasn’t playing as well because I was so, so scared to mess up and be yelled at. It crippled my performance, and it made me super anxious. He made me hate soccer.”
Here’s what the Richie Burke Scandal Proves
Let’s be honest, this is a mess. But what else do we expect from the NWSL? This shows what we already know about the NWSL, they don’t care about their players. There’s no doubt in my mind the league has allowed coaches to mistreat players in the past. Yet on top of that, players are underpaid. Additionally, the NWSL is an environment that allows for people to believe racially insensitive comments are okay. All this proves there is much work to be done within the NWSL as an organization.
Burke’s replacement is Anson Dorrance, longtime head coach of the University of North Carolina’s women’s team. However, Dorrance has previously had two lawsuits brought against him by former players, alleging sexual harassment. Evidently, the Richie Burke scandal already tells us everything we need to know about the NWSL.
While this story unfolds, don’t forget to check out other NWSL articles on Beyond Women’s Sports.
