Thread by @ScrambledMeggs

OK, I’m gonna take a stab at a timeline of events & statements in the ongoing avalanche of abuse scandals within PTFC. Let me know if I miss anything important.

(Keeping this strictly to abuse for my own sanity) (1/?)

#RCTID #BAONPDX @MLS @NWSL @107ist

MARCH, 2014: Thorns midfielder Mana Shim is interviewed for a profile in the Oregonian. She talks openly about her life, including her homosexual relationship. (2/?)

Source: ow.ly/v6rw2

MARCH, 2014 (days later): Shim is called to a meeting w/ Gavin Wilkinson, in which he suggests she needs to keep quiet about her sexuality in public. In doing so, he weaponizes another player’s approach to her own sexuality against Shim. (3/?)

Source: Meg Linehan, The Athletic

MARCH, 2015 (simultaneously): Someone from the PTFC Front Office reaches out to the reporter at the Oregonian to complain that they spoke to Shim without approval from the FO. (4/?)

Source:

https://twitter.com/caitlinmurr/status/1445151075015675908

SEPT. 16, 2015: Mana Shim files an official complaint alleging sexual coercion and harassment by then-coach Paul Riley. She identifies fellow Thorns Sinead Farrelly as a fellow victim and Alex Morgan as a witness. (5/?)

Source: Meg Linehan, The Athletic

SEPT. 17-22, 2015: The head of HR for PTFC meets with Mana to investigate the report. She tells Mana that she has no legal claim bc she has no hard evidence. She only speaks with Farrelly for 20 minutes & doesn’t speak to Morgan at all. (6/?)

Source: Meg Linehan, The Athletic

SEPT. 23, 2015: PTFC allows Riley’s contract to expire & publicly states this is due to poor results & Riley’s desire to return to Long Island. Wilkinson openly praises & thanks him. No mention of the allegations is ever made until 2021. (7/?)

Source: bit.ly/3gFWdpe

OCT, 2015: Shim is sent on loan to Japan & Farrelly is traded to Boston. Wilkinson tells Farelly the trade is not related to the investigation but won’t answer whether Riley will be allowed to coach elsewhere. (8/?)

Source: Meg Linehan, Thé Athletic

FEB. 19, 2016: Paul Riley is hired as head coach of the Western NY Flash. The hire is championed by Flash VP Aaran Lines, former Portland Timbers teammate and close friend of Gavin Wilkinson. (9/?)

Source: bit.ly/3uXiS9d

OCT. 2017 & SEPT. 2018: Merritt Paulson continues to publicly exchange friendly tweets with Riley. (10/?)

MAY 23, 2021: Timbers midfielder Andy Polo calls the PTFC FO while his wife calls 911 after Polo physically abuses her. PTFC Manager of Player Affairs Gabriel James and Director of Security Jim McCausland (retired PPB) arrive on scene & the intervene in the investigation. (11/?)

MAY 23, 2021 (cont): McCausland & James assure the cop that McCausland will separate the couple, so there is no need to arrest Polo. Charges are never filed and the Timbers neither investigate nor suspend Polo. The incident is kept quiet. (12/?)

Source: bit.ly/3GN5bvr

SEPT. 29, 2021: the Athletic reaches out to Merritt & Gavin for comment on the Riley story. For the 1st time, Merritt admits that the allegations “factored into the decision not to renew” Riley’s contract. Gavin calls Mana’s claims wrt her sexuality “bullshit.” (13/?)

SEPT 30, 2021: The Athletic publishes the article detailing Shim and Farrelly’s experiences with Riley, and with PTFC and NSWL Leadership. (14/?)

(By now I’ve given you more than enough screencaps of this piece. Pay journalists for their excellent work. bit.ly/3Jb9pPk)

SEPT. 30, 2021 (6 hours later): Gavin Wilkinson issues a statement attempting to walk back his “bullshit” comment, now claiming he didn’t INTEND to give Mana that impression. Otherwise PTFC goes silent while NC fires Riley & NWSL issues statements. (15/?)

OCT. 1, 2021: All NWSL matches that weekend are postponed in light of the allegations and fallout, following a request to do so from the @NWSLPA. (16/?)

Source: es.pn/3JnnR74

OCT. 2, 2021: While supporters rally outside the stadium demanding protection for players & removal of Gavin Wilkinson from PTFC, the Timbers players put out a joint statement in support of the NWSL players & all abuse survivors. Andy Polo signs & shares it on socials. (17/?)

OCT. 3, 2021: Supporters protest during the Timbers match. Several supporters report that their signs/banners were not allowed inside the stadium by security if they contained the full names “Gavin” or “Merritt.” The national broadcast calls attention to the protest (18/?)

OCT. 4, 2021: Merritt/PTFC finally issues a statement addressing the allegations. He now claims Riley was terminated (vs contract allowed to expire) & claims to “disavow the culture of silence” (While remaining silent about Polo incident). (19/?)

Source: bit.ly/3sB7kFs

OCT. 4, 2021 (cont): Note that the letter also includes a list of commitments to the players and community. Commitments #5 and #7 never happen. More on 7 further down. (20/?)

[this is going to take me all night, isn’t it? I’m barely to OCTOBER! Can I get freelance money for this?] (20.5/?)

OCT. 5, 2021: Merritt begins deleting all his friendly tweets to Paul Riley (seen in tweet 10 above). (21/?)

Source:

https://twitter.com/caitlinmurr/status/1445465693521002504

OCT 6, 2021 (5:30pm): The Thorns players release a joint statement & list of demands in the wake of the scandal. (22/?)

OCT. 6, 2021 (6:00pm) PTFC announces Gavin is suspended during their investigation (from Thorns duties only. He’s still GM of the Timbers). “their” will turn out to be an important word further down in this thread. (23/?)

Source:

https://twitter.com/thornsfc/status/1445918759756001280

OCT. 19, 2021: PTFC contacts season ticket holders to inform them that the deadline to renew will be waived while the investigation is ongoing. They simultaneously announce they’ll be setting up a scholarship fund (This fund has never been mentioned again.) (23/?)

Source:

https://twitter.com/LukeFritz64/status/1450574951086321666

[Holy shit, I’m only like half done and Twitter wouldn’t let me add any more tweets to the thread until I sent the first 24. I’ll finish this tomorrow morning. Send beer.] (24.5/?)

DEC. 13, 2021: PTFC, led by GM Gavin Wilkinson and with full knowledge of the domestic violence incident in May, decide to renew Polo’s contract. (25/?)

Source: stumptownfooty.com/platform/amp/2…

DEC. 14, 2021: Polo, Génessis & their kids travel to Peru for the holidays. [editor’s note: My only source on this is the rebuttal statement Polo released this morning. I can’t say whether this portion of the timeline is in dispute. Will update with corrections if need be] (26/?)

https://twitter.com/DMontalvan/status/1491862917532332043

DEC. 15, 2021: Génessis takes the kids & leaves the vacation rental for her grandma’s house. *i believe* this is when the 2nd DV incident occurred resulting in the black eye/neck abrasions in photos. She reports him. (27/?)

Source: Combo of above statement + first interview:

https://twitter.com/5mTKO/status/1491598704133902338

[Clarification: Reports and translations are alternatively referring to Génessis as Andy’s wife, ex-wife, and ex-girlfriend. From what I can tell they separated in 2018 & began divorce negotiations in JUNE, 2021, but divorce is not finalized yet] (28/?)

JAN. 11, 2022: PTFC contacts season ticket holders to inform them that the deadline for renewals is set for Jan. 21, despite the lack of investigation updates. When pressed, their responses imply the investigation is ongoing and they hope to have info they can share soon. (29/?)

JAN 14, 2022: Polo learns that Génessis made the report in Peru a month earlier (according to his statement). (30/?)

JAN 18, 2022: Andy Polo reports to Spring Training camp. (31/?)

JAN. 21, 2022: On the official deadline to renew season tickets, PTFC again reaches out to members to now extend the deadline by one week. They still claim they can’t give any updates on an ongoing investigation. (32/?)

JAN. 24, 2022: The Thorns PLAYERS release a joint statement giving an update on the status of the PTFC FO’s investigation. It contains several bombshells. (33/?)

JAN. 24, 2022 (cont): We learn:
-Who PTFC hired to investigate
-The inv. is CLOSED w/o interviewing any players
-Closed at request of NWSL/NWSLPA to prioritize THEIR OWN investigation
-Gavin was reinstated (remember that “their” in tweet #23?) when they closed it. (34/?)

JAN. 24, 2022 (cont): We DON’T learn:
-How long has it been closed?
-Results?
-What’d it include if it didn’t include speaking to players?
-Anything from the FO. They made the victims give an update while leading us 2 believe it was ongoing & they couldn’t talk 2 sell tix. (35/?)

FEB. 8, 2022: Génessis gives her first interview on a Peruvian talk show, sharing photos of her injuries & claiming that Polo has also been violent with the children & is not paying child support. (36/?)

Source: [CW, video contains descriptions/photos of DV injuries]

https://twitter.com/caitlinmurr/status/1491925146927603715

FEB. 9, 2022 (morning): PTFC sends a statement to select media outlets but doesn’t post publicly. Mins later MLS releases a statement publicly. Polo suspended pending investigation & Timbers are aware, will cooperate, & won’t comment. (37/?)

Source: bit.ly/3GIBJH1

FEB. 9, 2022 (evening): Génessis gives a second tv interview in which she reveals the details of PTFC leadership’s involvement in the May incident (tweet #12 above). (38/?)

Source:

https://twitter.com/jose_tejeda97/status/1491618448937566209

FEB. 10, 2022: The Oregonian obtains the police report of the May incident and verifies Génessis’ claims from the previous evening’s interview. They publish the article below at 1:40pm. (39/?)

bit.ly/3svT8hb

FEB. 10, 2022: At 1:45pm, 5 minutes after the Oregonian publicly confirms PTFC leadership’s involvement in the May incident, PTFC publicly releases a statement terminating Polo’s contract, & apologizing for not suspending/investigating Polo in May. (40/?)

bit.ly/3Bd4nPv

FEB. 10, 2022 (cont): Note that PTFC only admits to /knowledge/ of the incident, not involvement, and claims they knew nothing of the Dec. 15 incident until Feb. 8. They don’t address the decision to extend his contract in Dec. nor their silence on the issue over 9 months. (41/?)

I have an irrational hatred of odd numbers and can’t end this dumb thread on 41, so here’s (42/42):
SELL THE TEAMS, MERRITT. YOU’RE ONLY SORRY YOU GOT CAUGHT. AGAIN.

Jesus, y’all started blowing this up before I finished it. I don’t have a SoundCloud, but you should support journalists - particularly women in sports like @itsmeglinehan @caitlinmurr & @Jamiebgoldberg.

Also: This is an excellent point:

https://twitter.com/nmgarner/status/1492061922987970560

LAST NOTE: A reminder that this thread was ONLY the abuse issues. I didn’t touch on the Iron Front, covid response, the MLS Cup ticketing debacle, antagonism towards 107ist, Valeri’s/Blanco’s contracts, trading Jebo & Zarek, the Brian Fernandez saga…

#GWOut #SellTheTeamsMerritt

⬇️

https://twitter.com/ScrambledMeggs/status/1492164094895349769

Also big thanks to @PaulTenorio & @samstejskal for taking this seriously and not letting Merritt off the hook. If you haven’t listened to their podcast episode released this morning yet, you should. open.spotify.com/episode/6dXoFp…