Sporting KC hires former Timbers, Thorns executive named in Yates report
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Sporting Kansas City has hired former Portland Timbers and Portland Thorns head Gavin Wilkinson as sporting director.
“Wilkinson will be a leader in the club’s long-term player recruitment strategy, roster building and budgeting, technical staff management, and the continued development of Sporting’s professional player pathway, including MLS NEXT Pro team Sporting Kansas City II and the Sporting Kansas City Academy,” Sporting KC said in a statement.
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Wilkinson was the general manager and president of soccer of both the Timbers and their NWSL sister club, the Thorns, but was fired near the end of the 2022 season following separate investigations into the organizations’ handling of player or coach misconduct.
An investigation that was commissioned by the U.S. Soccer Federation and run by former Attorney General Sally Q. Yates addressed misconduct throughout the NWSL, including how the Thorns and Wilkinson handled head coach Paul Riley’s 2015 dismissal from the organization and subsequent re-hiring at the Western New York Flash.
The report stated that Wilkinson recommended Riley to the Flash months after the head coach was fired by Portland for cause after an internal investigation found evidence of his misconduct with players.
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A secondhand account in the Yates report stated that Wilkinson told a Western New York executive that Riley was “put in a bad position” by a player who accused him of misconduct and said that he would hire the head coach “in a heartbeat.”
Western New York hired Riley early in 2016, and he remained in that position until his firing in 2021 after The Athletic reported he had sexually coerced Thorns players during his time at the club.
Riley denied that allegation.
Wilkinson was also implicated in the Timbers’ failure to report domestic violence allegations against midfielder Andy Polo in 2021.
An MLS investigation run by Proskauer Rose LLP in 2022 ruled that while the Timbers failed to report the allegation, they did so out of incompetence, not out of a desire to cover it up.
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The team learned of the allegation just after the incident occurred in May 2021. With Wilkinson in charge, the Timbers exercised their option on Polo’s contract in December 2021. The team released Polo after the allegations became public. After the league investigation, MLS fined the club $25,000 for the failure to report the incident.
Wilkinson was placed on administrative leave from the Portland Thorns and ultimately replaced.
In a 30-minute press conference on Thursday, Sporting KC principal owner Mike Illig, manager Peter Vermes and Wilkinson each expressed how Wilkinson learned from his missteps and that he deserves a second chance.
“I want you to know that Sporting’s ownership group took this incredibly seriously,” Illig read from a written statement.
“Through comprehensive, rigorous reviews by Nolan Partners (a sports executive recruiting firm), and our Sporting Kansas City review and diligence of both private and public investigative reports, we have concluded that in Portland, there were acknowledged lapses in judgment and that certain aspects of his situation should have been handled much differently.
“We also concluded that, ultimately, Gavin is a strong principled individual worthy of a second chance that can and will represent the elevated standards and expectations of Sporting Kansas City well into the future.
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“Over his 15 years of leading soccer operations at the Portland Timbers, Gavin has an incredible, highly visible track record of driving soccer performance and results. I’m excited that he and Peter, each with their own portfolios of strength and expertise, will complement each other to position Sporting Kansas City for continued long-term success.”
“People deserve a second chance, especially if they understand where they can improve and all those other things,” Vermes said. “And we saw that reflection in him we saw that, that advancement just in who he is and listen to him to talk about those things.”
Vermes and Wilkinson have known each other for years, and Vermes said Wilkinson was the best candidate to work with him.
Having Wilkinson as sporting director allows Vermes to focus on being a manager and Chief Soccer Officer for SKC, the team said.
“I just got solidified in my thoughts that you need MLS experience number one, and then also it is very, very important for that person to be able to lead a room to be able to have command,” Vermes said. “And then the final piece is you have to have won, I think, somewhere along the line. Gavin’s done all those things.”
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When asked if any female employees were consulted in the process, Vermes also pointed out that there are women in the ownership group.
“We have owners that are women, so were they consulted. This was a fast process, but it’s part of the ownership group’s vetting process and yeah, that would be it.”
The Timbers and Thorns have seen plenty of success on the pitch with Wilkinson in office.
He was the inaugural technical director of the Timbers when the club entered MLS as an expansion team in 2011. They made the playoffs in seven of his 11 full seasons running the sporting department along with winning the 2015 MLS Cup while appearing in the 2018 and 2021 MLS Cups.
The Thorns won the inaugural NWSL championship in 2013 with two more championships coming in 2017 and 2022 (against the Kansas City Current).
Wilkinson took time to apologize to the survivors of the several incidents he was implicated in.
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“I would like to take this moment to apologize for the unintended consequences and to the individuals who were impacted,” he said.
“I should have done more in my previous role to protect and empower female athletes and not hide behind legal advice. I should have been able to stand on my own two feet, questioned the process, find out more information, find out more about the situation that occurred and made a more informed decision.”
“I should have spoken up to prevent the hiring of the coach involved. And as I said, a deeper dive and looking at that through the lens having stepped away I owe those involved a sincere apology.”
Wilkinson also spent some time firing back at details of the Yates report and called some facts of the investigation “hearsay.” Notably, he pointed out that he did not recommend Riley to Western New York.
“That did not happen. I do not recommend Paul Riley, but I did not tell them not to hire, and that’s where I’m saying I should have done more at that moment.”
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Wilkinson also shot down the detail in the Yates report that he told a Western New York executive that Riley was “put in a bad position” by a player who accused him of misconduct
“Completely incorrect. And again, that comes down through a hearsay comment to justify hiring.”
The New Zealander clung to ignorance about Riley’s sexual coercion of Thorns players.
“We were only aware of one incident and one isolated incident when we took action back in 2015 and that’s why the coach was removed in 2015. Everything else outside of that was news to us. So it’s very easy to separate those two,” he said.
Wilkinson repeatedly stated the “facts have not necessarily been reported,” and he didn’t empower the female athlete.
But he argued he has done the work to better himself since the incidents. Some of that work includes a diversity, equality and inclusion (aka DEI) course that he took through Cornell University.
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“Started to look at it through other lenses and what I could look for and what I can act on and how to manage that,” Wilkinson said. “And for me, it was more awareness and being open and being more of a listener and taking action on that and taking a hard action.
“I’m hoping some of those experiences of what I’ve gone through have improved me as a leader and have improved me as a person It’s mainly the reflection process. The accountability, obviously standing up and holding my hand up and now the knowledge and the understanding of taking action.”
Wilkinson took that course along with 15 months of self-reflection to try to rectify with allegations of one player recalling Wilkinson saying, “Why can’t you just stop being a b***h?” when she would ask him for things on behalf of the team that was noted in the Yates report.
“This incident is obviously a concern, but it doesn’t solidify who I am as a person and how I represent myself and how I go about things on a day-to-day basis,” he said.
The report states another player recalled Wilkinson cautioning her not to be vocal about “off the field” matters after she had publicly come out about her sexuality. Wilkinson denied those recollections in the report.
This hire is Sporting KC’s next step in their attempt to return to their 2010s form where they won an MLS Cup and three U.S. Open Cups.
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The club believes that despite the blatant lack of oversight and mishandling in Wilkinson’s tenure in Portland, he has atoned for his sins and can ultimately bring success on the pitch.
“I think I’m a caring, compassionate human being and I think I try and mix that with trying to win,” Wilkinson said. “There was an error of judgment, and I should have done more. On the flip side, there are many things that I have done and will continue to do to try and showcase who I am as a person.
“I think being away from the game for 15 months, there’s a lot of humility involved. And there’s a lot of reflection and there’s a lot of time just spent saying, ‘Why and what could I have done and what should I have done differently?’ And those are questions you have to answer to yourself.
“And for me, I think I’ve learned I’m not perfect, but I’ve never met a perfect person. And you know, with me being in a very public spotlight, obviously, everyone can have an opinion everyone can pass judgment and I’m just hopeful that fans will look at the facts and I will have plenty of opportunity with town hall and other initiatives to relate to folks and answer questions as well.”
“And then it’s up to them to make their mind up.”
For the full Yates report, click here.
