USSF on Yates & SafeSport

Statement from U.S. Soccer Board of Directors Yates Implementation Committee Chair Danielle Slaton 

October 21, 2022 

“The U.S. Soccer Board of Directors Yates Implementation Committee, together with U.S. Soccer staff, is actively advancing the critically important steps required to implement the recommendations laid out in Sally Yates’s report as quickly and effectively as possible. 

“The importance of this work cannot be overstated. Our highest priority as a Federation is to ensure that everyone who participates in our game is safe. Even as a former athlete who has pursued Olympic and World Cup gold, I believe deeply that there is no more worthy pursuit than the one we are facing now as a Federation. It is our duty to build upon the wave of change that began with the brave voices and actions of our players. I am personally dedicated to ensuring that this process results in meaningful reform in our sport, and I know the other members of the Committee share that commitment.  

“As we advance our action plan for addressing the report’s recommendations, U.S. Soccer has now published soccer records from SafeSport’s Centralized Disciplinary Database to publicly identify individuals in our sport who are currently subject to discipline, suspended or banned. We are also working to establish U.S. Soccer’s new office to oversee participant safety, drawing on best practices and expertise across sports and beyond to help inform the development of the policies and reporting mechanisms this office will oversee.

“Going forward, U.S. Soccer will keep players, Federation membership and the public up to date on our work by transparently communicating our progress each step of the way, including via the Participant Safety Hub of the U.S. Soccer website, which also houses a number of participant safety resources, including our Code of Conduct and reporting hotline information.

“We are only getting started. Our Committee and U.S. Soccer staff still have much to execute on and we will continue to do the hard work of transforming words into action and lasting change. It’s going to take all of us in the soccer community, each with our own resources and platforms, to reform our sport. The Federation will not stop, and we welcome the voices and engagement of the entire soccer community in this process.”