Nwsl Says It Has ‘no Duty Of Care’ For Women Suing San Diego Wave Over Assault Claims

In a filing past month, nan National Women’s Soccer League denied each allegations contained successful a suit brought by erstwhile San Diego Wave labor and called for nan suit to beryllium “dismissed successful its entirety,” claiming that nan convention has “no work of care” to nan six women suing nan nine and nan league.

The 2024 suit contains allegations of intersexual battle of an worker by a co-worker while some employed astatine nan club, on pinch claims of intersexual harassment, group discrimination, disablement discrimination, nonaccomplishment to analyse and forestall harassment and discrimination.

In nan reply to nan allegations revenge connected 8 July to nan Superior Court of California successful San Diego, nan NWSL’s ineligible representatives, Los Angeles patient Arentfox Schiff, contradict that nan six erstwhile Wave labor were “damaged aliases harmed” because of immoderate enactment of nan league.

The NWSL’s lawyers declare “the doctrine of consent,” inferring that nan intersexual battle and harassment claims were based connected consensual encounters, and besides that definite allegations are beyond California’s statute of limitations. The NWSL’s defense besides claims it had nary work of attraction to San Diego Wave labor arsenic immoderate incidents that occurred were betwixt nan individuals and nan nine – not nan league.

According to ineligible experts interviewed by nan Guardian, nan NWSL’s consequence to nan suit is simply a catch-all reply that intends to screen each imaginable angles of defense.

“The suspect has simply listed each affirmative defense that could use to immoderate of nan claims,” said Professor David Oppenheimer, objective professor of rule astatine nan University of California, Berkeley School of Law. “The communal word for specified an reply is ‘boilerplate.’ The intent is to sphere immoderate conceivable defense.”

An NWSL spokesperson said nan convention could not remark connected pending litigation. Arentfox Schiff did not respond to requests for remark and clarification.

The six women who revenge nan suit see 1 who claims she was sexually assaulted by a San Diego Wave co-worker, different who claims she was sexually harassed by nan aforesaid co-worker, and Brittany Alvarado, a erstwhile videographer for nan Wave, claiming workplace-related violations. Three different women are named successful nan suit for akin alleged violations. Alvarado brought attraction to nan workplace situation astatine San Diego Wave aft she posted connected societal media successful 2024 that nan “NWSL must return contiguous action to region Jill Ellis from some nan San Diego Wave and nan convention entirely.”

Ellis, nan erstwhile USWNT caput coach, was Wave president astatine nan clip of nan events alleged successful nan suit and had a hands-on domiciled successful managing nan club. Ellis has since departed San Diego to return a elder domiciled at Fifa arsenic its main shot officer. Ellis is not a suspect successful nan suit but is named wrong it, described arsenic having “set an abusive and toxic workplace culture” and “once asking random men successful Kansas City astir their penises”. (Ellis has revenge a abstracted defamation suit against Alvarado based connected her societal media post.)

The Guardian antecedently revealed that a 2024 investigation by nan NWSL into San Diego Wave guidance recovered that nan club’s beforehand agency “could person done more” to reside a intersexual battle allegation but recovered nary circumstantial rumor pinch really nan declare was handled because nan alleged unfortunate did not usage nan word “sexual” erstwhile describing her experience. The San Diego Wave is simply a co-defendant successful nan lawsuit pinch nan NWSL.

As reported by nan Guardian, Jane Doe 1 alleges that a nighttime retired successful San Diego pinch a co-worker led to “inappropriate activities including a crippled of ‘Sexy Jenga’ that led to him pressuring her into non-consensual intersexual acts”. Jane Doe 1 alleges that later astatine her apartment, while she was drunk, she was pressured into “sexual activity that she explicitly stated she did not consent to”.

The NWSL’s defense argues that consent was given. Under California law, consent requires an individual to freely springiness statement to prosecute successful intersexual activity “and voluntarily and person knowledge of nan quality of nan enactment aliases transaction involved.”

Another woman, “Jane Doe 2”, alleged successful nan suit she was sexually harassed by nan aforesaid San Diego Wave worker who this clip sent her non-work related messages and images via Snapchat that became progressively intersexual successful nature. Jane Doe 2 claims she was terminated by nan nine aft she did not activity nan minimum number of shifts successful her non-full-time domiciled – shifts that were assigned by nan alleged harasser.

“In a negligence case, consent is simply a imaginable defense erstwhile nan plaintiff has agreed to participate successful an activity knowing that location are important risks of harm, and consenting to taxable themselves to them,” Oppenheimer said. “The champion examples travel from sports, but for nan athletes … In this case, for nan statutory claims nether nan civilian authorities laws, location is nary defense of consent.”

Oppenheimer offered a hypothetical script for nan NWSL to motorboat a successful defense:

“[The] suspect proves that arsenic each worker was hired they were warned, ‘You request to cognize that this is simply a toxic workplace. We licence affectional and intersexual harassment, we retaliate against group who complain, and we occurrence group successful bad faith. If you don’t want to taxable yourself to this, don’t activity here.’ That mightiness beryllium capable to take sides themselves connected nan negligent hiring and guidance claim, but it would taxable them to liability connected nan statutory favoritism claims.”

The defense besides claims nan lawsuit should beryllium dismissed because nan plaintiffs delayed bringing nan suit and that a two-year statute of limitations nether California rule should beryllium enforced. The earliest claims made successful nan lawsuit took spot successful mid-2022. The suit was revenge successful October of 2024. The NWSL’s lawyers mention a conception of California codification of civilian process stipulating that location is simply a two-year statute of limitations to writer for “An action for assault, battery, aliases wounded to, aliases for nan decease of, an individual caused by nan wrongful enactment aliases neglect of another.” California rule stipulates elsewhere that location is simply a 10-year statute of limitations for criminal intersexual battle claims (the NWSL lawsuit successful mobility is civil).

The NWSL claims it cannot beryllium held accountable for events described successful nan suit because they autumn extracurricular nan narration betwixt nan convention and nan Wave. The convention claims it did not cognize nan incidents occurred nor should it person known.

The erstwhile San Diego Wave labor person requested a proceedings by jury.