PORTLAND, Ore. — Canadian Rhian Wilkinson has stepped down as head coach of the National Women’s Soccer League’s Portland Thorns, saying players asked her to resign following an investigation into misconduct.
Wilkinson said in a statement Friday that she was cleared of wrongdoing following an investigation into a relationship with one of her players.
She said players found out about the investigation before she could tell them and asked her to step down, which she agreed to do.
Wilkinson said she formed a friendship with a player that “turned into more complex emotions.”
She said the relationship didn’t progress past an “expression of feelings for one another” and shortly after she and the player stopped communicating outside of work.
Wilkinson said she reported herself to the Thorns’ human resources department.
The news of Wilkinson’s departure comes a day after Thorns owner Merritt Paulson said he is putting the team up for sale. That decision came nearly two months after a pair of team executives were dismissed for their roles in systemic abuse and misconduct that had spanned multiple teams in the NWSL, including the Thorns.
Wilkinson was hired as Thorns coach in Nov. 2021 and led the Thorns to an NWSL title last season.
The team’s captain, Christine Sinclair, and general manager, Karina LeBlanc, are also Canadian.
The 40-year-old Wilkinson, from Baie d’Urfe, Que., won 181 caps for Canada’s women’s team and helped it win a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
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