Former NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird stands by decisions during turbulent tenure

Former NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird said that during her time running the league, she acted appropriately and didn't ignore allegations of misconduct made against former Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage manager Paul Riley.

Baird made her first public comments since resigning from her position last year, saying, «If something was brought to me, I followed up on it,» in an interview with ESPN reporter Lisa Salters, as part of the E60 documentary «Truth Be Told: The Fight For Women's Professional Soccer,» which debuts at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday on ESPN2.

Asked whether she would have done anything differently, Baird said, «Well, you know, I could second-guess myself a lot. I've had a lot of time to reflect on this. I'm sure there are things that I could do differently. I think, right now, I made the best decisions I could with the information I had at the time.»

«Truth Be Told — The Fight For Women's Professional Soccer» debuts Tuesday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN+

Several of the league's players contradict Baird's assessment about her handling of the allegations. In September 2021, The Athletic reported that ex-Thorns players Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly brought accusations of sexual harassment and coercion against Riley to the team. The Thorns fired Riley in 2015 following an investigation, though the Thorns and the NWSL — then under commissioner Jeff Plush — did not publicly disclose the nature of his firing, and allowed him to be hired by another NWSL team shortly thereafter.

Shortly after publication of the report, Baird issued a statement saying she was «shocked and disgusted to read the new allegations reported in The Athletic.» But San Diego Wave forward Alex Morgan, who was with the Thorns when some