For more than a decade, no sports owner championed women’s soccer in the United States like Henry Merritt Paulson III.
A graduate of Harvard Business School and son of a former U. S. Treasury secretary. Paulson is a baseball fan turned soccer addict whose fondness for his teams, the Portland Timbers of MLS and the Thorns of the NWSL, is undeniable.
Frequently praised by MLS Commissioner Don Garber for making Portland the style of a thriving soccer club, male or female (the network is nicknamed “Soccer City” because of the good fortune and steadfastness of both clubs), Paulson was one of the first to recognize women. Professional soccer can be a big problem in the United States.
While other NWSL groups operated on tight budgets or ran as side projects, Paulson invested in the Thorns as he did with the Timbers, making sure the team had top-notch hotels and facilities, something other NWSL clubs struggled with for years.
His antics (enthusiastic and lagging players, who complain about refereeing and sometimes performing online) have been overlooked due to his determination to develop the game in the United States.
But now, this unconventional advocate for women poses a risk to the game at a time when her popularity is exploding across the country.
Beneath the surface, Portland was far from a style club. A damning investigation commissioned by U. S. Soccer and led by former U. S. attorney generalU. S. Sally Yates, published Oct. 3, uncovered rampant abuse by the NWSL, focusing on mismanagement through Paulson and other Portland executives.
In response, some of football’s biggest stars, as well as fans, called on Paulson to sell any of the groups and withdraw from the game altogether.
USWNT star Megan Rapinoe, who played football at the University of Portland school, called him by name and said, “I don’t think Merritt Paulson has a compatibility to own this team. “
A day after the report’s release, Thorns star and USWNT co-captain Becky Sauerbrunn told reporters, “All of the football owners, managers and officials who have continually failed players and failed to protect players, and have not fully participated in those investigations, come on.
Paulson responded to Yates’ report by firing two workplace executives and resigning as CEO. Skeptics say the movements are purely optical because, as an owner, you have the final say on everything.
He has already told enthusiasts that the other investigation conducted on behalf of the NWSL and the players’ fix, which is expected to release his findings before the end of the year, will exonerate him. In the meantime, he desperately seeks to put up with the groups he loves so much.
Through a Timbers spokesman, Paulson declined to comment on the story.
Yates’ report said Paulson was not transparent about why the club parted ways with former Thorns coach Paul Riley, who has been accused by several players of unwanted sexual advances. Some industry experts say continuing as an owner is a threat to the league as a whole. , and past praise and good fortune should not weigh on the decision.
“The question is, ‘What’s the threat to this team if it sells?’said Nicole LaVoi, director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls.
But it goes further. LaVoi echoed an idea that several Portland enthusiasts have also expressed: If Paulson has compatibility to own a women’s team given what happened, why would he have compatibility to own a men’s team?
“He didn’t sign a bad contract or make a bad investment in the stadium — he hurt people, his decision-making hurt the players and hurt our community,” said Gabby Rosas, president of the 107 Independent Supporters Trust, the governing board. fan teams Timbers Army and Rose City Riveters (107ist is named after the segment of the stadium where the teams are sitting).
Rosas said he doesn’t think “a story of redemption is coming” and that he knows team enthusiasts may not be silent as the Thorns continue their playoffs Sunday with a semifinal against the San Diego Wave.
“I don’t know what his turning point is, I don’t know what tension he can bear,” he said, “but we’re going to give it to him. “
Among professional sports owners, Paulson is an unconventional fit.
Like many homeowners, he came here because of the money: his father, Henry Paulson, who served as Secretary of the Treasury under George W. Bush has a declared net worth of more than $700 million. But if Merritt Paulson is rich, he’s a billionaire like MLS owners Dietrich Mateschitz (New York) and Stan Kroenke (Colorado).
Paulson, 49, first bought the Timbers as a kind of joke. His investment group, Shortstop LLC, purchased the Timbers as part of a comprehensive agreement with the Portland Beavers, a baseball team then owned by the Pacific Coast League (Providence Park, where the Timbers’ work went through many iterations over the years and primarily a ballpark). In 2010, Portland became MLS’s 18th franchise, with Paulson paying the $40 million access fee.
According to Sportico, Paulson sold a 15% stake in Timbers and Thorns last year to Arctos Sports Partners, a personal equity firm that has invested in more than a dozen other teams.
Paulson’s influence within football, whether in his city or in the game in general, is clear. But his hiding place outside of Providence Park and the world of football is virtually nonexistent: aside from charitable donations for conservation efforts, he’s not visual as a civic leader. According to public records, he is not a major political donor like other leading figures of the games in the city; Nike co-founder Phil Knight, for example, gave $3. 75 million and $1 million, respectively, to independent and Republican candidates for governor of Oregon this cycle.
Since Yates’ report, no major city or head of state has fought for Paulson. In fact, the three gubernatorial candidates agreed on nothing else in their debate Wednesday night, other than that Paulson deserves to sell the Timbers and Thorns. Current Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has in the past called for a systemic replacement in women’s soccer and U. S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) called the effects “devastating. “Neither named Paulson in their statements.
During the Oregonian/OregonLive debate
Within football, however, Paulson has long been respected, primarily through Garber, who praised Paulson earlier this year for building “from the ground up one of the wonderful sports teams, in any sport, in our country, if not all of North America. “The comment came despite recent evidence that the Timbers mishandled a domestic violence incident involving Andy Polo, a former Timbers player.
Polo was suspended through the Timbers and MLS, and his contract was subsequently terminated. MLS fined the Timbers $25,000 in March for failing to disclose the allegations. investigations involving the Timbers and Thorns.
Paulson also has a habit of being impolite on Twitter and getting into public fights with fans; He called them “idiots” and “morons,” and has been known to delete tweets. He also criticized the fact that he arbitrated on social networks, attracting significant fines. He deleted his account earlier this year.
In 2018, after Orlando forward Sydney Leroux called Paulson and the Thorns for not allowing his son into the box after a Thorns-Pride game, Paulson lashed out at Leroux on Twitter, writing, “Instead of making up conspiracy theories and dramas, maybe would it be better for you to be in the game?Just a thought. ” Then he deleted the Tweet.
However, Garber generally appeases it and it is widely believed that Garber will not lead a rate to ban him from MLS. According to MLS bylaws, a vote of 75% of MLS homeowners is needed to bind another homeowner. There is no precedent for this, an MLS and NWSL owner was forced to sell in the past: former Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals owner Dell Loy Hansen “decided to sell,” according to the league, after making racist comments. The groups were sold separately.
The worst findings of Yates’ report detailed allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse against Riley, and how he continued to train in the league after Portland let him pass in 2015 because Paulson and executives kept quiet.
A story published a year ago in The Athletic revealed the sad truth: Two former Thorns players accused Riley of unwanted sexual advances and, after a club investigation, Riley fired in 2015.
Yates’ report went further and said that in his career, Riley “took advantage of his position” to force at least 3 players to have sex.
The Thorns shared the findings of their investigation with the league, but never publicly disclosed why Riley left. Paulson and other Thorns executives even gave Riley a smart recommendation, according to Yates’ report. Riley then signed through Western New York Flash in 2016 and returned through North Carolina Courage in 2017. He fired across North Carolina as a result of The Athletic storyline.
Fan teams from the Timbers Army and Rose City Riveters have called on Paulson to sell the team, saying in a joint statement, “The poisonous culture that has allowed those behaviors to exist and continue in our club organizations lasts too long, too deep. “and too high
Paulson has taken slow action to appease angry fans. The day after the release of Yates’ report, he fired football president Gavin Wilkinson and business president Mike Golub.
According to the report, Wilkinson blamed a former Thorns player for Riley’s situation and told another NWSL club that the player had “put Riley in a bad position” and would “sign him in the blink of an eye. “management of the Polo situation.
Meanwhile, Golub made a sexually irrelevant relationship with former Thorns coach Cindy Parlow Cone, who is now president of football. Golub has also been accused in the past of fostering a “toxic” environment following an investigation published through The Oregonian in mid-August.
The sponsors also take the floor. In the days following the publication of the Yates report, a local Portland lending company and a local wine company severed relations with the clubs. money from either group to a fund formed by the NWSLPA for player benefits.
“You’ve noticed so much tension with sponsors and the departure of sponsors, it indicates that having someone at the helm who obviously doesn’t protect and pay attention to the players, having this infection is likely to deter players from (signing) there,” Anna said. . Goorevich, a doctoral student in Minnesota and study assistant at the Tucker Center.
Paulson stepped down as CEO after the Alaska Airlines announcement, handing over day-to-day jobs to interim President Heather Davis. And yet, their movements are not enough for those who indulge in betting.
Fans who have spent years making Portland a shining example of how soccer can excel in America are deeply damaged by Paulson’s actions. But for them, the resolve to sell is devoid of emotion.
“If he says he hasn’t known how to do human resources, he doesn’t have compatibility to run a business,” Rosas said. “This user didn’t know how to be a boss and a leader. There are many other people who report to you! Are you a boss, you are a CEO and do not know what is a crime punishable by dismissal? Don’t know what a disciplinary measure is? You can’t run a business, period.
“At the end of the day, he ran this club in a way that allowed for a lot of pain and abuse. It’s a business decision and it has to go,” added Rachel Greenough, Thorns’ subscription holder. “At the end of the day, everything that has been done right for women’s football thanks to him does not undo the evil that he has overseen at this club and in this league. I just don’t think he can recover from that.
A few days after the release of Yates’ report, a Twitter account of Portland Timbers and Thorns fans shared a fake Craigslist post that made other people laugh upon learning about it.
“For sale: professional football club, poorly managed, $600,000,000 OBO,” reads the headline, with more details in the description: “I bought this club a few years ago (I think it was a baseball team), and it was just a problem. Total remorse of the buyer.
While $600 million, even for either team, be optimistic, Paulson will make a smart return on your investment if you sell. Michele Kang paid $35 million, a record for an NWSL team, when he bought the Washington Spirit earlier this year.
However, the cash won’t be enough to motivate Paulson to sell.
The Timbers and Thorns aren’t a fun-looking assignment for Paulson — they’re his hobby and he’s been more active than many owners in professional sports, especially women’s sports.
But that’s becoming women’s soccer, especially in sprawling NWSL cities like San Diego and Los Angeles. Angel City has some of the most active and active homeowners in the industry, led by a contingent of celebrities: Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman is one of the founders, Serena Williams’ husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is the lead investor, while actresses Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Garner and Eva Longoria are very public investors and fans.
San Diego set NWSL attendance records in a single game in the normal season and playoffs.
Paulson’s reputation as a pioneer is impressive, but he no longer agrees with those who examine the economics of sport. Right now, the Timbers and Thorns are booming and Portland will continue to thrive as Soccer City, in the United States, with or without Paulson. administration.
“There’s a lot of evidence right now that the women’s sports industry is more viable than ever,” LaVoil said, citing a study published earlier this year by the Tucker Center.
The good fortune and popularity of the Thorns (the team has long been the most sensible in the league, averaging more than 14,000 consistent enthusiasts with the game) proved that women’s professional soccer in America can be profitable.
Reports of systemic abuse are shaking up the game at a time of unprecedented fan base and developing monetary support, thanks in large part to the good fortune and activism of the U. S. Women’s National Team. She was in the U. S. after winning back-to-back World Cups and generating stars like Rapinoe. , Alex Morgan and Crystal Dunn, who also plays for the Thorns.
“We’ve noticed those big waves from before: in 1996, after the Olympics, and it ran out of strength. Then in 1999, after the World Cup, a lot of Array and then it ran out of strength,” Nancy Lough said. , professor and co-director of the Sports Research and Innovation Initiative of the UNLV. “In fact, I think this one is sustainable, or I did it until this scandal. “
Lough worries if sponsors back him, everything can fall apart.
Less fear is the continuation of the fans. Because, as essential as Paulson was to the good fortune of the NWSL in particular, he didn’t invent the love of football in the city.
Long before it was introduced at Providence Park, the city flocked to Portland’s original soccer powerhouse: the University of Portland female drivers, who won NCAA championships in 2002 and 2005.
Christine Sinclair, a Portland icon who spent his entire NWSL career with the Thorns after being part of any of the name groups at UP, said earlier this week that she was confident the Thorns and Timbers would continue no matter what happens in the coming weeks. . .
“It’s here to stay,” Sinclair said. The Thorns and Timbers are bigger than one user or two other people or 3 other people. “
Sinclair was evasive when asked if Paulson needed to sell the teams and said off-field issues “can be solved in the offseason. “
One thing complicating the consequences is that it would be difficult to sell clubs given the intertwined nature of their main offices. But for some, the answer is transparent and promoting only Thorns is not an option.
“If Merritt Paulson rarely has compatibility to own a women’s team, then he will not have compatibility to own a men’s team,” Rosas said. “If this kind of abuse, harassment and cover-up happens in your organization, Merritt Paulson doesn’t care about football at all. “