U.S. Soccer recently announced plans to implement 12 safety recommendations as a result of an investigation into allegations of abusive behavior and sexual misconduct in women’s professional soccer.
Oʻahu native Mana Shim and fellow former National Women’s Soccer League player Sinead Farrelly came forward in 2021 with allegations of harassment and sexual coercion against longtime league coach Paul Riley.
"We took a number of steps to try and address the issue with the league, the NWSL, and none of it worked so we ended up going public with our story," Shim told The Conversation. "From that, it was just, you know, kind of a domino effect. A lot of other coaches had allegations against them. And U.S. Soccer and the NWSL both launched investigations to look into just generally physical and sexual abuse and harassment from coaches."
An independent investigation found emotional abuse and sexual misconduct were systemic in the sport, impacting multiple teams, coaches and players, according to the report by Sally Q. Yates released in October 2022.
Following the investigation, U.S. Soccer created a Participant Safety Taskforce and named Shim to lead it. The taskforce includes former or current athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, psychologists, lawyers and more.
The goal is to build a culture of participant-centered safety and trust across the sport.
"I don't think it's a secret that this is something that's rooted in youth sports, and it was something that I experienced as a young player, and I didn't realize it until I'd gone through it as an adult, just that it was, maybe not happening to me, but there was grooming around me," Shim said.
Shim said addressing the power dynamics between coaches and players is the clearest issue as far as how abuse starts.
"Making sure there are protections in place for players and coaches alike, because it's difficult when coaches don't have clear boundaries drawn up and they don't have the tools and skills to deal with difficult situations. So it's really doing our part to make sure everyone has the resources they need to make soccer a safer place," Shim said.
Shim grew up on Oʻahu and attended Kamehameha Schools. After leaving professional soccer in 2019, she went on to receive a law degree from the University of Hawaiʻi in 2022.
"Everything I'm doing now is with the hope that players, girls and women in the future don't have to deal with what I went through," Shim said.
This interview aired on The Conversation on Feb. 7, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
