Statement and Call to Action by the Board of the Plainfield Curling Club
On October 3, 2022, the United States Soccer Federation released its Report of the Independent Investigation to the U.S. Soccer Federation Concerning Allegations of Abusive Behavior and Sexual Misconduct in Women’s Professional Soccer (“Yates Report”). The abuse outlined in the Yates Report is reprehensible, as was the conduct of those who enabled it. Although it shocks the conscience to think that it must still, in this era, be said, A the PCC community states unequivocally that abuse is unacceptable.
PCC supports the affected athletes, their families, and all those who were harmed or silenced for seeking redress for the wrongs done. We condemn the use of power to systematically harm women, seek to eliminate the vestiges of a sporting culture that perpetuated that harm, and call upon those individuals with knowledge of the abuses reported in the Yates report to fully cooperate with the ongoing NWSL/NWSLPA joint investigation.
The curling community prides itself on its legacy of collegiality, the abiding “spirit of curling.” Trust is paramount. Any action by a leader within our community that undermines or violates that trust compromises not only that individual’s integrity but our sport itself.
Therefore, the entire curling community must demand that USA Curling provide a timely, transparent, and complete accounting of its response to the GNCC’s November 2021 request regarding CEO Jeff Plush, including any and all specific actions taken by the USA Curling Board of Directors (“Board”) between the release of the Yates report and the Board’s October 3, 2022 and October 13, 2022 statements.
Three times — first in November 2021, and twice in recent weeks — the Board has had an opportunity to address with transparency the nexus between curling’s governing body’s leadership and the serious transgressions committed in the NWSL while Jeff Plush was commissioner. Three times they have failed. The actions and inactions of the CEO, Jeff Plush, and the Board are in opposition to the Board’s stated commitment to athlete safety and their obligations to serve the long-term interests of USA Curling. By failing to participate in the Yates Report process, as set forth therein, and failing to engage with the curling community about these issues, they have effectively championed the very closed culture that perpetuates abuse and protects abusers, eschewing their obligation to promote a culture of safety and support for women and youth within our sport. Because they have failed to rise to the seriousness of these accusations and have shielded themselves from any accountability we demand that they resign from their positions.
We must also address recent developments within the United States Women’s Curling Association (USWCA). Despite their unique standing and stated purpose (“to develop, nurture and promote the sport of curling among today's women and all youth”) the USWCA’s officers have now prioritized shielding USAC from accountability over the integrity of their unique mission. They have a voting seat on the USAC Board of Directors and have given full support to that Board in their public statements; they have promulgated incorrect information; they have denigrated the USAC Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force; and, when questioned about this topic, they have shut down the discussion among concerned women curlers on their social media sites. In light of these troubling actions we call on the USWCA officers to resign in order to restore USWCA’s reputation and independence.
Finally, PCC joins the chorus of voices across our community in calling upon USA Curling to commit that the organization and all its employees will fully cooperate with the ongoing NWSL/NWSLPA joint investigation and provide a full, accurate, and transparent reporting on any and all related actions taken with regard to NWSL/NWSLPA and within our own sport to date and in future. USA Curling must implement proper protections for all athletes, and redirect the National Governing Body’s attention from petty infighting and obfuscation to its core mission: the growth of the sport and fostering an environment that is true to the “Spirit of Curling.”
