Denver NWSL will begin play next year, and they just announced Curt Johnson as their general manager. Johnson has a decades long career in soccer in the U.S., but he is not exactly a household name. What the soccer world should know about him and should follow him to his grave is that he had a hand in hiring Paul Riley at the North Carolina Courage despite Riley's being terminated from the Portland Thorns due to sexual misconduct. 

Paul Riley was a former NWSL coach (he also coached in the WPSL, WPS, and youth soccer, after starting his coaching career with a men’s DII college team and in the lower ranks of U.S. men’s professional soccer). Riley is now banned for life from the NWSL, and the U.S. Center for SafeSport has taken action against him. Riley coached the Portland Thorns for the 2014 and 2015 seasons, he was hired in 2016 by the Western New York Flash, and when the Flash were sold and moved to North Carolina in 2017 he remained. In 2021, it was publicly revealed that the reason for Riley leaving the Thorns was due to his sexually misconduct, with Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim coming forward due to the NWSL’s continued lack of action into their concerns. 

2021 was the year of league wide scandal in the NWSL due to the league's repeated mishandling and outright covering up of misconduct. This resulted in U.S. Soccer commissioning an investigation which resulted in what is known as the Yates Report, as well as a joint investigation from the NWSL and the NWSL Player Association which also resulted in a report.

From the Yates Report regarding Riley’s misconduct:

“He leveraged his position as Head Coach at the Philadelphia Independence (WPS) to coerce Sinead Farrelly and two other players into sexual relationships. We also received credible reports of sexual misconduct with other players, but we did not sufficiently corroborate those accounts to include them here. Although allegations of sexual misconduct against Riley were brought to the attention of leadership at the League and/or the Federation every year from 2015 through 2021, much of Riley’s misconduct remained under wraps until The Athletic article was published. Numerous players reported that Paul Riley created a sexualized workplace throughout his tenure in the NWSL. Riley frequently talked with players about sex and encouraged them to do the same. He fixated on players’ sexual orientations and targeted players with grooming behavior that included late night texts, drinking, and flirtatious comments about their appearance. Riley’s abusive conduct was considered an 'open secret,' but it never prompted an institutional response… The misconduct described in The Athletic article was not isolated. Paul Riley’s abuse was prolonged and wide-ranging. It spanned multiple leagues, teams, and players. It included emotional misconduct, abuse of power, and sexual misconduct.”

According to the Yates report, “the Portland Thorns, the Federation, and the League failed to ensure Riley’s conduct was accurately disclosed to Western New York Flash or North Carolina Courage.” Johnson would likely argue that this absolves him of fault. However, the Yates Report also gives insight into the information that Johnson did have. The Yates Report states, “As part of the diligence in obtaining the WNY Flash, NCFC assessed whether Riley should remain as the Head Coach of the rebranded team. In that process, NCFC Chairman and Owner Steve Malik and NCFC President and General Manager Curt Johnson both contacted multiple sources, including representatives of the Thorns, WNY Flash, the League, and USSF. Through those communications, NCFC learned of an alleged incident in which Riley had players up to his apartment, where two women kissed.”

The Yates Report says that Johnson’s due diligence did not include asking the Flash for their understanding of why Riley left the Thorns, though that he did ask if there were any red flags and nothing was raised. Johnson did speak to then USSF CEO Dan Flynn, who Johnson says described the incident with Riley drinking with players and ending up back at his apartment as poor judgment. Johnson also said that Flynn “went on to discuss Riley’s issues with referees at length, including how Riley had grabbed one referee’s arm.” Flynn for his part, denies Johnson’s version of their conversation about Riley leaving the Thorns. Flynn told the Yates Investigation that he merely told Johnson that Johnson “should talk with the ownership group at Portland, as well as other owners in the league, before he and his ownership group made any decision.” It is a reoccurrence in the Yates Report that Johnson’s (and Malik’s) version of conversations differ from those they had said conversations with. The Yates Report deosn't make a strong determination of whose version of events is closer to the truth. Johnson told the Yates investigation that he also spoke to then NWSL Commissioner Jeff Plush. Johnson said that Plush “focused on an ongoing issue Riley had with referees that might lead to a ‘likely’ suspension.” Plush never responded to the Yates’ investigation’s request to speak. 

Fast-forward to 2019, Riley was shortlisted for the USWNT head coaching job so talks were again had. According to the Yates Report, “when Riley’s name surfaced, individuals who were aware of player reports of sexual misconduct by Riley reached out to contacts at USSF—in two separate channels—to raise concern. This prompted attention from individuals in USSF, the League, the Thorns and the Courage—over a dozen conversations followed in quick succession—but ultimately no action.” While Johnson’s name is never brought up in the Yates Report regarding these conversations, as Malik’s second in command it is a reasonable assumption that he was aware if not outright a party in some fashion.

The Yates Report makes clear that Malik became involved in the cover-up for Riley. The most insidious of evidence is this text exchange: “…on a text chain between Malik, Paulson, and NWSL President Duffy, Malik shared Riley’s tweet. Paulson commented, ‘Smart.’ Malik responded, ‘Obviously I talked to him.’” The Yates Report concludes that this episode ended without any apparent “discussions in the League, USSF, or at the Courage regarding further action in light of a fresh review of the 2015 Thorns Report, and the apparent consensus that the misconduct it reflected was not appropriate for a National Team Head Coach.”

More quotes from the Yates Report regarding Riley’s tenure at the Courage:

• “At the NC Courage, one player stated that male coaches had only a curtain separating their office from the locker room, and that the coaches ‘have to walk through the locker room to get out to the field.’”
• “Likewise, a Courage player described a ‘culture of fear’ in which the ‘players were not allowed to have an opinion and were berated [by Riley] for making mistakes.’”
• “Players and staff on both the Thorns and the Courage commented that the way Riley spoke about weight promoted eating disorders… Players at the Courage reported this treatment twice—once to the League and once to Courage team management.”
• “Riley also hosted “retreats” at his large home (described as a 'castle') in New York while at the Thorns, the Flash, and the Courage.”
• “Several players on the Flash and Courage recalled Riley encouraging the players to share ‘sexual stories’ or jokes with the team before practice each day.”
• “As one Courage player stated, ‘as [the team] got better, he got worse.’”

The lack of proper due diligence by Curt Johnson (and Steve Malik) in hiring Paul Riley and the apparent lack of oversight of Riley as the Courage coach led to Riley being allowed to harm Courage players. The most egregious example in the Yates Report is “Player A, a player at the Courage who wishes to remain anonymous, reported experiences similar to Shim’s, beginning in 2017."

When the NWSL handed out disciplinary measures following the release of its and the NWSLPA joint investigation report, it gave the Courage a slap of the wrist with a $50,000 fine and the requirement that the Courage hire “a sporting staff (i.e., coaches and general managers) that is completely distinct from the men’s team with which it shares ownership, and the Courage staff must report directly to ownership.” This stipulation regarding separate staff appears to have either been not enforced or removed because the press release from Denver NWSL announcing Johnson’s hiring says, “Johnson served as Chief Soccer Officer and General Manager of the North Carolina Courage (2017-2024) and North Carolina FC (2011-2024), where he oversaw both business and soccer operations.”

It’s not surprising that North Carolina Courage owner Steve Malik did not fire Curt Johnson. Doing so would have been tantamount to Malik not only admitting wrongdoing by the club but also wrongdoing by he himself. What is surprising is that Denver NWSL would want to link themselves to such a dark cloud that still hangs over the league. While the Courage's success is repeatedly mentioned about Denver NWSL hiring Johnson, Johnson for his part seems to want to gloss over Paul Riley who was the coach during the Courage's record setting success. When speaking to the Athletic, Johnson refused to answer whether or not Paul Riley was discussed in his interview process. Kierkegaard wrote in Either/Or, “Do you not know that there comes a midnight hour when everyone has to throw off his mask? Do you believe that life will always let itself be mocked? Do you think you can slip away a little before midnight to avoid this?” It remains to be seen if this will come to pass for Johnson.