San Diego Wave, NWSL sued by five former employees

Five former employees of San Diego Wave FC have filed a lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court against the club and the National Women’s Soccer League alleging multiple forms of discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination.

The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages for lost wages and benefits and for emotional distress, as well as punitive damages.

The suit adds additional allegations to those made over the summer by former Wave employee Brittany Alvarado that the club, led by team president Jill Ellis, created a toxic work environment.

The Wave quickly refuted those allegations from July, and a few weeks later, Ellis filed a defamation lawsuit alleging that Alvarado “made false and defamatory statements about Ellis … supported by a fake email.”

Ellis is not named as a defendant in the new lawsuit, although she is mentioned throughout it. The lawsuit alleges that Wave leadership fostered an “abusive and hostile work environment” and that multiple employees “asked for help from the NWSL.”

A San Diego Wave spokesperson provided the following statement to ESPN on Thursday: “This lawsuit concerns allegations initially raised on July 3, 2024. As this matter is an ongoing legal proceeding, we are unable to comment further at this time.”

The suit also points to what it claims is the league’s failure to document complaints and conduct independent investigations. Among the new allegations are that Jane Doe, a first-season hire by the club, was sexually assaulted by a coworker on multiple occasions, including upon arrival at the club in July 2022.

Jane Doe, per the lawsuit, did not report her alleged incidents to her employer or the police at the time out of fear of retaliation and the potential loss of her job. The lawsuit says Jane Doe revealed to her manager that another employee was traumatizing her and expressed concerns about the work environment at the club, as well as knowledge of an investigation.

Jane Doe was placed on leave the next day, according to the lawsuit, before being terminated three days later. After that, she sought advice on how to report an assault by an employee during her tenure, and the Wave sent her a link to a workers’ compensation injury form.

The lawsuit alleges that the NWSL’s investigation into the Wave sought only to determine whether the Wave had any knowledge of the assault, not whether the club took any action based on the complaints. It reads: “Horrifyingly, defendant NWSL told plaintiff Doe during the investigative read out that defendant Wave had not been on notice of her sexual assault because she used the word ‘assault’ instead of the phrase ‘sexual assault’ when reporting the incidents. Defendant NWSL’s own policy does not use the term ‘assault.’ Rather, it uses the vague term ‘misconduct.’ There is no reason to require a sexual assault survivor to use magic language when reporting.”

The new lawsuit states that there were two league investigations into the Wave: one from February 2023 to September 2023, and another from February 2024 to May 2024. The NWSL previously acknowledged the latter investigation in response to Alvarado’s social media posts in July.

Reached by ESPN on Thursday about the latest lawsuit, an NWSL spokesperson provided the following statement: “The safety, health, and well-being of everyone associated with our league is our highest priority. We take serious any and every report of potential misconduct, hire qualified independent investigators to review those allegations thoroughly, and act when allegations are supported by the facts uncovered. We will not comment specifically about an active legal matter.”

The NWSL implemented widespread reforms over the past two years, following two yearlong investigations — one conducted by former U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates — that uncovered “systemic” abuse in the league. The reports led to permanent bans from the league for four former coaches and the forced sale of two franchises because of their previous owners’ enablement of abusive behaviors.

An anti-harassment policy was also established in conjunction with the NWSL Players Association, and the league created an anonymous leaguewide hotline for players to report misconduct.

The new lawsuit against the Wave and the league alleges that the NWSL has failed to protect staff and players, and that the allegations made by the plaintiffs “demonstrates the NWSL’s inability to competently conduct ‘independent’ investigations or accurately document complaints.”