The horrifying abuse in the NWSL is no surprise to anyone in the game

I was asked to speak with the Yates investigation into abuse in US soccer after the Guardian published its own report into the University of Toledo that included my reports of being a survivor of sexual assault and abuse. The reality as a survivor is that you struggle to trust others and any sign of doubt about what you share triggers physical and emotional responses that make reliving those experiences yet again difficult.

Talking to the Yates investigators, I felt the disbelief was not that they doubted my story but a lack of understanding of how deep systemic abuse runs through every level of women’s soccer in the US.

Over two hours with the investigators, I shared experiences from my youth playing career, collegiate playing career, coaching career and my role as a US Soccer grassroots coaching instructor.

I told the investigators that none of the stories from the NWSL – which include reports of coaches sexually assaulting their players – were shocking for me or my peers, including those who left soccer behind decades ago. We knew the names that were mentioned. We saw these people abuse others in public and were always left imagining what might happen behind closed doors, where no one would step up to stop the perpetrators.

To understand what happened (and is happening) in the NWSL you have to look at the full landscape of the game: youth to adult, players to coaches to referees, boards to owners, clubs to governing bodies.

It all comes down to an unwavering desire by those with power to protect their own and the institutions. The truth is uncomfortable for those in power to digest. This leads to no accountability and a trail of discarded players, coaches, referees and fans who leave soccer because of the failures of