George Dixon Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 (edited) USA Women's Soccer, athletes at the very height of their sport, in a more niche activity which lacks the intense press coverage of other top sports (sound familiar?) - are reeling from the release of an independent review of abuse inside the sport league: Quote The United States captain, Becky Sauerbrunn, has demanded root and branch reform of elite domestic soccer in North America after an independent investigation found that emotional abuse and sexual misconduct had become systemic throughout the National Women’s Soccer League. “It’s time for those in authority to start being accountable and make players in this league feel safe,” said the 37-year-old Portland Thorns defender after she and her US teammates arrived in London to prepare for Friday’s high-profile friendly against England at Wembley. “The players are not doing well. We are horrified, exhausted and really, really angry. “We’re heartbroken and frustrated. We’re angry it took a third-party investigation and over 200 people sharing their trauma to get to the point we’re at right now. Passion for the game has been taken away from players because of this abuse, we need to bring that joy and accessibility back to the game. The executives perpetuating this should be gone.” USWNT players ‘horrified, exhausted and really angry’ after NWSL abuse report | USA women's football team | The Guardian This seems eerily familiar to the current junior corps activity. Who will conduct a similar third-party investigation of DCI related entities? Edited October 5, 2022 by George Dixon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpbobcat Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 If I'm reading correctly, the NWSL investigation was commissioned by the US Soccer Federation. I would think, in the case of Drum Corps, any independent investigation would need to be commissioned by DCI. Sorry, but I just don't see that happening. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contraguard05 Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 23 minutes ago, rpbobcat said: If I'm reading correctly, the NWSL investigation was commissioned by the US Soccer Federation. I would think, in the case of Drum Corps, any independent investigation would need to be commissioned by DCI. Sorry, but I just don't see that happening. I hate that I agree with you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGCpimpOtimp Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 USA Gymnastics, USA Swimming, DCI, WGI, the Catholic Church...at what point do we stop thinking there's something unique about these organizations, and realize that we have an entire societal issue that needs addressed nationally. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeN Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 Yeah, I was wondering about the parallels here too. The most horrible part is, via ESPN: Quote Cone noted that the only power the USSF has over the NWSL is sanctioning the league. Any further discipline will likely come from the NWSL. "I guess I would say we have influence but not the power to force anything," she said. Um, you can actually sanction the league then. She said that sanctions or revoking their license to participate, is a step too far. Which begs the question, what would they have to then *do* to merit it, if this isn't it? MIke 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 4 hours ago, rpbobcat said: If I'm reading correctly, the NWSL investigation was commissioned by the US Soccer Federation. I would think, in the case of Drum Corps, any independent investigation would need to be commissioned by DCI. Sorry, but I just don't see that happening. For NWSL, it was most likely an act of self-preservation by the higher ups who saw the writing on the wall about what is likely to come, not some magnanimous gesture to do the right thing on their part. When (not if) they get sued, NWSL will at least be able to show they were proactive about it. But yeah, you're probably right about DCI since they don't put much effort into even going through the motions of pretending they care about member safety across the activity. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexL Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 1 hour ago, MGCpimpOtimp said: USA Gymnastics, USA Swimming, DCI, WGI, the Catholic Church...at what point do we stop thinking there's something unique about these organizations, and realize that we have an entire societal issue that needs addressed nationally. Its anywhere where there's significant power imbalances at work and a culture where people are generally pushed to not question authority or to 'keep things in the family' or 'keep quiet for the good of the team'. I think these all could apply to drum corps at various points, and it means culture changes are/were necessary. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 1 hour ago, AlexL said: Its anywhere where there's significant power imbalances at work and a culture where people are generally pushed to not question authority or to 'keep things in the family' or 'keep quiet for the good of the team'. I think these all could apply to drum corps at various points, and it means culture changes are/were necessary. Making the abnormal “normal” for decades. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Flores Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 3 hours ago, MikeN said: Yeah, I was wondering about the parallels here too. The most horrible part is, via ESPN: Um, you can actually sanction the league then. She said that sanctions or revoking their license to participate, is a step too far. Which begs the question, what would they have to then *do* to merit it, if this isn't it? MIke USSF (US Soccer Federation) runs much like DCI...they sanction leagues, develop competition and stadium standards, define each tier. However they do have the power to sanction a league for not being able to follow regulations...they've done it before (NASL, NISA). However, just like DCI, they don't use the power enough and that why there are issues in the NWSL. They could pull a leagues license and deem anyone playing in an unsanctioned league as disqualified to participate in USSF sanctioned teams (USWNT, USMNT, USYNT). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 8 hours ago, rpbobcat said: If I'm reading correctly, the NWSL investigation was commissioned by the US Soccer Federation. I would think, in the case of Drum Corps, any independent investigation would need to be commissioned by DCI. Sorry, but I just don't see that happening. sad but true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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