USWNT, Portland Thorns defender Becky Sauerbrunn: Players 'failed' by leadership

U.S. women's national team defender Becky Sauerbrunn said that anyone still in the NWSL who contributed to its abusive environment needs to be removed, in the wake of the release of the Yates report detailing the abusive culture in women's professional soccer.

«For so long, this has always fallen on the player to demand change, and that is because the people in authority and decision-making positions have repeatedly failed to protect us and they have failed to hold themselves and each other accountable,» Sauerbrunn said during media availability in London. «And what and who are you actually protecting and what values are you upholding? You have failed in your stewardship.

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»And it's my opinion that every owner and executive and U.S. Soccer official who has repeatedly failed the players and failed to protect the players, who have hidden behind legalities and have not participated fully in these investigations should be gone."

Minutes before Sauerbrunn began addressing the media, Merritt Paulson, the owner of her club team the Portland Thorns, released a statement in which he informed the NWSL that he «will be removing [himself] effective today from all Thorns-related decision making» until a joint investigation by the NWSL and the NWSL Players Association is complete.

The statement added that the same will be true for president of soccer Gavin Wilkinson and president of business Mike Golub, all of whom featured prominently in the report as having enabled or turned a blind eye to abuse.

Asked whether her comments applied to Paulson, Sauerbrunn said: «It includes everyone that has continued to fail the players time and