The NWSL received eight complaints about either sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, or retaliation during the first half of this year, according to documents obtained by Defector Media. The reports span multiple teams, and were received between February and June.
The conclusions of any resulting investigations are redacted. So are the names of the teams involved.
This is all according to documents filed with three attorneys general—Illinois, Washington, D.C., and New York—as required by a settlement made last year with the NWSL due to investigations into sexual abuse and misconduct in professional women's soccer. As part of the deal with law enforcement, the league is required to submit a document to the government twice a year detailing what it is doing to investigate and prevent abuse.
The NWSL is also required by the settlement to share anonymized player survey results with both the players' union and the government. However, both Washington and Illinois told Defector that they had no copies of any survey results. When asked why no documents existed, Illinois and Washington gave answers to Defector that indicated the results were being delivered via presentation—meaning no records are being generated. (New York did not reply to any of our requests for comment.)
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This means that, between the presentations and the redactions, very little public information exists about the allegations, the investigations, and what, if any, punishments were levied. Here is what we do know, though, based on the documents released to Defector.
The most recent report covers the time period between Feb. 1 and July 31 of this year. What little is revealed says:
- In February of 2026, an anonymous report was made of sexual misconduct involving a club called Team B.
- That same month, sexual harassment and retaliation were reported involving Team C. The only part not redacted regarding Club C is a segment saying "sexually inappropriate comments."
- Also in February, two reports were received involving Team D. In one, someone shared "allegations of sexual misconduct," the document said. In another, the document said a person "approached NWSL's safety officer to advise of a report made by … " All the rest is redacted.
- In March, a report was made of sexual misconduct with Team E. All the other information was redacted.
- In April, the NWSL received an anonymous report that was classified as retaliation. In the summary, the team was labeled "unknown."
- Another report was made in May. It's classified as sexual misconduct. In this case, even the area where there should be an alphabet letter assigned was redacted. No identification was given for the team.
- In June, someone disclosed sexual misconduct. Though the disclosure was made this year, the document lists November of 2025 as a relevant date. The anonymized alphabet letter this team received also was redacted.
No other information was given in the report, which is similar to how they have been redacted in the past. Defector reached out to both the league and the union that represents its players for comment. Neither replied before publication. This story will be updated if either replies in a meaningful way.
These numbers are higher than in previous compliance reports reviewed by Defector. When Defector requested a similar document last year, it showed five complaints in the first half of 2025, none involving sexual misconduct. League materials submitted along with that report also showed the NWSL had received 43 complaints in total the year before.
Most information about the five investigations from the first half of 2025 was redacted, and the AGs who responded to us with documents told us they made them due to privacy concerns (Washington) and ongoing investigations (Illinois).
A second report, from the second half of 2025 and early 2026, showed five investigations into four different teams for toxic work environments and emotional misconduct. It did not mention any complaints involving sexual misconduct or sexual harassment. This report also had most of the information about the investigations redacted, but this time public records custodians told Defector that the report came to their offices with redactions already in place on those pages.
The NWSL, per its settlement, is also supposed to provide anonymized survey results regarding player safety to the AGs. And the documents released do indicate that the survey results are being shared with the government. But every time Defector asked for copies of the survey results, records custodians said they didn’t have any records to provide.
When asked why there were no documents, the Illinois AG's deputy press secretary, April McLaren, told us: "We receive sensitive player information from the league in various formats, and we meet regularly with them to discuss compliance." When Defector asked for clarification on what "various formats" meant, McLaren did not reply.
With Washington, Erika Stilabower, that AG's ethics and compliance counsel and FOIA officer, said the survey results were provided "as part of a presentation by the NWSL." That’s why no records exist.
New York denied all our public record requests and did not respond to any of our requests for comment.
Now in its third round of submissions to the government, the league does appear to be tweaking its submissions slightly. In the first report, the NWSL provided a copy of its anti-harassment training, which said that it had received 43 complaints in 2024 from either a club, a player, or the players union.
When the league submitted a copy of the presentation a second time—after Defector had published its first article about the document—it submitted a slightly different version. This copy of the training did not provide any number of complaints received.
A full copy of the latest compliance report can be read below, or by clicking here.
