Ellis the menace (allegedly)
I’ll start with saying it feels weird getting back into posting amid team controversy, and weeks after said controversy at that, but so it goes. I had a piece about Casey Stoney’s tenure in San Diego ready to post a few weeks ago, but it felt weird doing so a day after the team was accused of allegedly fostering an abusive work environment by multiple people.
In an effort to avoid news aggregating and rewording other journalists’ reports, I’m going to link sources covering everything. Ken Stone from Times of San Diego did a great roundup of how everything unfolded, including the original claim against San Diego Wave front office, the team’s response threatening the victim with legal action, and Alex Morgan’s post advocating for a safe work environment.
https://timesofsandiego.com/sports/2024/07/03/toxic-workplace-at-san-diego-wave-fc-claimed-by-ex-staff-club-issuing-denials/
Days later the league claimed it investigated and found “no violation of league policy” from the San Diego Wave front office, according to a statement the league sent to Mark Ziegler of the Union-Tribune and The Sirens supporters group.
from article in San Diego Union-Tribune
Odd this was a national story, yet a week later those national outlets were only sourcing the U-T piece and the statement from The Sirens. Also, the league not holding a press conference to open themselves up to questions about something this serious involving a repeat offender is a bad look.
Thankfully, the supporters group put out one of its strongest statements to date:
My only criticism here is with some of the language. I would have liked it to state “we demand” rather than “we ask”. A request versus a demand is the difference between posturing and acting. The SG is absolutely right in asking the team for the 3 things listed and I hope they continue to push for them as the season continues.
To summarize: the team mistreated an employee, that employee posted about the experience on social media and shared an (allegedly) fake non-team related email, multiple other people came forward with mistreatment stories, the team denied allegations, threatened the victim with legal action, and the league performed an investigation clearing the team of any “violation of league policy” a week later. It’s important to also note the investigation occurred from Feb. - April, when concerns were originally raised I guess? See this is what a press conference is for!
While the league and team may have found resolution to the situation and moved on, there are multiple concerns still lingering and the team’s leadership should continue to be questioned.
If this issue was raised and investigated months ago, why did it take a week for the league to send out the results of its investigation?
Maybe the victim received the results of the investigation, was not happy with the results, and took to social media seeking justice? If this is the case, the fact more people came forward is a red flag and speaks to a potential culture issue rather than an isolated event.
The league that conducted the investigation is the same league that read the Sally Yates report, saw why Jill Ellis was named, and decided it was fine for her to be the president of a team.
As long as Ellis has a leadership position with San Diego Wave Futbol Club, her history with workplace harm sheds any ability to give benefit of doubt. The team needs to provide extensive evidence when claiming innocence from current and future allegations. This is why it’s important The Sirens and fans continue to push for making the conclusions of the recent investigation publicly available.
Ellis may not be able to control the way team staff behaves towards others, but she can make impactful choices that foster a culture of zero tolerance for workplace harm, so the responsibility will always fall on her. Then again, this is the same person who may or may not have fired a head coach while they mourned a lost loved one. (This is all speculation based on Casey Stoney posting about both things happening in short succession. We would know for sure if any journalist had asked Ellis for a detailed timeline of Stoney’s dismissal.)
