Orlando Pride head coach Amanda Cromwell and first assistant Sam Greene have been placed on administrative league, the team announced on Tuesday morning.
The move comes after a recommendation from the NWSL and NWSLPA joint investigation team, “pending the conclusion of an investigation into alleged retaliation in violation of the NWSL Policy to Prevent and Eliminate Workplace Discrimination, Harassment, and Bullying.”
Cromwell and Greene’s employment with the Orlando Pride will be determined after the investigation concludes. Pride assistant coach and former Orlando City player Seb Hines will serve as interim head coach.
According to a report from the Athletic, the league has frozen the Orlando Pride’s roster to keep players from being traded or waived.
Cromwell is the second NWSL head coach suspended this season as a result of the ongoing investigation. In April, the Houston Dash suspended general manager and head coach James Clarkson after the team received a report from the joint NWSL and NWSLPA investigative team into alleged discrimination, harassment, and abuse.
The NWSL first introduced an anti-harassment policy at the beginning of the 2021 season. The policy was further updated ahead of the 2022 season.
During the 2021 NWSL season, five of the NWSL’s 10 teams saw head coaches either fired or forced to resign as a result of non-soccer reasons, including alleged sexual misconduct, verbal abuse, racist remarks, and perpetuating a toxic work culture. A sixth team – NJ/NY Gotham FC – terminated its general manager.
Cromwell, who earned 55 caps with the USWNT, was hired by the Orlando Pride in December 2021 after serving as head coach of UCLA’s women’s soccer team from 2013 to 2021. Prior to that, she was a head coach at the University of Central Florida and the University of Maryland.
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