Portland Thorns coach Rhian Wilkinson resigning after investigation clears her of player relationship
Updated: Dec. 02, 2022, 11:38 a.m. |
Published: Dec. 02, 2022, 8:27 a.m.
Portland Thorns head coach Rhian Wilkinson speaks during a championship rally in front of hundreds of fans at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022, days after winning the club's third NWSL title.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
Oregonian/OregonLive Sports
Portland Thorns coach Rhian Wilkinson is resigning after leading the team to a league championship in her lone season at the helm, adding more off-field turmoil for the embattled NWSL franchise.
Wilkinson notified the Thorns that she will resign this month, the club announced Friday morning. The Thorns said that late in the season Wilkinson self-reported an issue to team leadership, which elevated the matter to the NWSL. In a social media post Friday, Wilkinson said she and one of her players shared feelings for each other in mid-October but that things went no further than that.
"In an effort to follow NWSL and NWSLPA processes to protect player safety, and to be as transparent as possible, the player and I immediately stopped spending time outside of training together, and soon after stopped all communication outside of work," Wilkinson wrote. "In less than a week, I reported myself to human resources to make sure I had not crossed any ethical lines."
The Athletic reported that the player is Thorns defender Emily Menges, who has played in Portland since 2014. Wilkinson played with Menges during her time with the Thorns in 2015.
A subsequent investigation by the league and its players association cleared Wilkinson, 40, of any wrongdoing.
"The Portland Thorns and Coach Wilkinson followed all League processes and policies and fully cooperated with this investigation," NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said in a statement. "The joint investigative team conducted a thorough investigation that resulted in a finding of no violation of League policies."
But Wilkinson said in her social media post that the Thorns players asked for her resignation and she agreed to it.
"Once you've lost the locker room, which I have, there's no return," Wilkinson told The Athletic.
The news of Wilkinson's impending resignation comes during a time of both success and turmoil for the Thorns.
On the field, Wilkinson led the Thorns to a 10-3-9 record and the club's third NWSL title.
But off the field, a U.S. Soccer investigation into allegations of misconduct and abuse across the NWSL found that Portland Timbers and Thorns owner Merritt Paulson and his executives enabled and vouched for Paul Riley, the former coach of the Thorns accused of sexual misconduct by multiple former players.
On Thursday, Paulson announced plans to sell the Thorns while maintaining ownership of the Timbers, his MLS club.
The Thorns hired Wilkinson almost exactly a year ago to replace Mark Parsons, who left to become coach of the Netherlands women's national team. Now, the team will be in search of another head coach.
"I would like to thank the Portland Thorns organization, the fans, the staff and most importantly the players for a remarkable year," Wilkinson wrote. "During my time in Portland I have met some incredible people and been fortunate enough to coach some of the best players in the game."