Major League Soccer team executive on leave of absence after sexism allegations
A Major League Soccer and National Women’s Soccer League team executive who was accused of sexism in the workplace is taking a leave of absence until further notice, Utah Soccer said in a statement Tuesday.
The announcement came one day after RSL Soapbox, which is part of the sports site SB Nation, reported that team executive Andy Carroll, the chief business officer for the MLS club Real Salt Lake and NWSL club Utah Royals, had participated in conversations about the physical appearance of former sideline reporter Rebecca Cade.
Former team photographer Roscoe Myrick was cited in the story, saying that Carroll requested players from the Utah Royals be posed so they would look “sexy,” according to the RSL Soapbox story.
CNN has attempted to reach Carroll for comment.
“Utah Soccer was extremely disappointed by the allegations in the recent RSL Soapbox article regarding Mr. Carroll,” the Utah Soccer statement says. “Mr. Carroll has spent notable time and energy to further the business operations of the organization. Still, Utah Soccer takes these allegations extremely seriously. Utah Soccer prioritizes the safety, well-being, and security of its players and employees above all, and does not tolerate discriminatory or derogatory conduct of any kind. While Utah Soccer endeavors to learn more about the allegations raised in the article, Mr. Carroll will be taking a leave of absence from the organization until further notice.”
This comes after the owner of both teams, Dell Loy Hansen, announced he would sell both clubs as MLS and the NWSL investigate allegations of racism by Hansen.
Former employees and players accused Hansen of using the N-word and calling Black people thugs, according to an article in The Athletic on Thursday. A former intern told CNN affiliate KUTV that he was fired after writing an email to Hansen complaining that an equipment manager had used racist language in 2014.
