Former San Diego Wave employees criticize Jill Ellis and others – the club reacts

There is a lot of discussion surrounding the NWSL’s San Diego Wave after team president Jill Ellis fired head coach Casey Stoney earlier this week. The move came just months after Stoney signed a new contract through 2027 earlier this year. And the discussion took a turn on Wednesday when former Wave employees began speaking out harshly against the team and when the team hit back with accusations of a “fake email” and “defamatory statements.”

This began with a Twitter/X post by videographer/photographer Brittany Alvarado in the wake of Stoney’s controversial firing. Alvarado moved to San Diego last year to work as the team’s video and creative manager, but quit last month after feeling “trapped in an environment where my mental health was relentlessly at risk.” She said the organization “often discriminates against women and shows a complete disregard for their long-term mental health,” citing that more than 75 percent of the 30 employees who have been fired or quit since the team’s formation in 2021 were women.

Alvarado also accused the club of “abusive leadership,” and took aim at Ellis in particular, saying, “On behalf of my former colleagues and myself, the treatment we endured under club president Jill Ellis was nothing short of life-altering and devastating to our mental health.” Here is her full post (also available on Twitter/X here):

For those who have suffered abuse.
For those who are afraid to speak their mind.
I see you and I will fight for you.

This is for you.

The time for accountability in the @nwsl is now. pic.twitter.com/ljdC1XUHCQ

– Brittany Alvarado (@bavacado2) July 3, 2024

Alvarado then added a follow-up post with an email she said she received from a “senior member of Wave’s leadership” ten days after her resignation:

pic.twitter.com/DwMAUOUWNo

– Brittany Alvarado (@bavacado2) July 3, 2024

The team responded with a statement calling Alvarado’s comments “false and defamatory” and claiming the email was “fabricated”:

pic.twitter.com/mOoZ6lZwGk

— San Diego Wave FC (@sandiegowavefc) July 3, 2024

But others have also commented on Alvarado’s remarks, including photographer Jenny Chuang:

When I considered freelancing at Wave after I left, my former boss (who is no longer there) offered me $200 per game while hiring her white male friend for $1,000, telling me I wasn’t good enough to earn more.

– Jenny Chuang (@jenkchu) July 3, 2024

However, Chuang noted that the people “who caused me pain” no longer work there, so their complaints are not specific to Ellis:

I stayed silent after I experienced retaliation and I am still scared as I still work in women’s football. But my silence has contributed to more people having to suffer the same abuse. We need to protect people on AND off the field.

– Jenny Chuang (@jenkchu) July 3, 2024

I also want to make it clear that the people who caused me harm no longer work at Wave. Since returning to the league, I have had a good working relationship with the club as an *external* freelancer. I try my best to stay out of internal political issues.

– Jenny Chuang (@jenkchu) July 3, 2024

To update: Sydney Leroux of Angel City FC, who played for the USWNT under Ellis, also supported Alvarado with the following comment:

It is the courage of one person to tell their story in the hope that one day more people will feel comfortable enough to tell their story. We are with you @bavacado2.

— Sydney Leroux (@sydneyleroux) July 3, 2024

Meanwhile, the NWSL also spoke out and demanded reports to its security officer in a statement:

Here is the statement of a @NWSL Spokesperson on the allegations of discrimination and abuse by the front office of the San Diego Wave, made by a former @sandiegowavefc Employees. pic.twitter.com/52VCYTE8Aq

— Abraham Zepeda (@abe_zepeda) July 3, 2024

And others questioned the wave’s response:

I am very surprised that the team is so quick to issue a rebuttal and denial, even though Jill Ellis has been criticized a lot in the past.

Cross out everything except “San Diego Wave FC is currently reviewing this situation” and you’ll get a much better answer the same day. https://t.co/Tkx3LBPsYG

– Sarah Spain (@SarahSpain) July 3, 2024

Regardless of what happened, the San Diego Wave’s response to a very scathing/disturbing tweet about the organization… was not the right way to handle it.

— Dan Lauletta (@TheDanLauletta) July 3, 2024

This. I don’t know who is advising San Diego Wave right now, but this could end VERY badly for them https://t.co/M2Rj1APbBM

— Casey Hultin (@caseysonthecase) July 3, 2024

Well, San Diego Wave stands behind Jill Ellis and calls the allegations false and the email a fake.

Sounds like San Diego is in for a rude awakening. https://t.co/xamUNSBeHI

— Gal Pal Sports (@GalPalSports) July 3, 2024

Others mentioned Carli Lloyd’s recent comments in Fox’s Copa America coverage about USWNT coaches “hating” the players, and many assumed that included Ellis:

Subject: San Diego Wave.

Less than 48 hours ago, Carli Lloyd was on national television and said this. Guess who her coach was at the 2015 and 2019 World Cups. It’s not rocket science. Hopefully the NWSL will launch an investigation into the Wave because they won’t do it internally. pic.twitter.com/NkoIRaG26D

– Aaron (@ajshapi1) July 3, 2024

It’s worth noting that there have been several high-profile investigations of the NWSL over the years. In particular, a 2021 report by Meg Linehan and Katie Strang of The Athletic into sexual assault by former coach Paul Riley and the league’s muted response to those allegations sparked a player revolt and even game postponements. But 2021 also saw an investigation into harassment, verbal abuse and a toxic work culture at the Washington Spirit, sparked by WashingtonPost reporting, and that investigation led to the firing of head coach Richie Burke and the eventual forced sale of the team. There were also further allegations and investigations throughout the league, and that eventually led to the resignation of Commissioner Lisa Baird, with five head coaches and several other executives losing their jobs as well.

As Alvarado notes in her first post here, those previous investigations led to calls for change. In 2022 in particular, a report by former U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates and a joint investigation by the NWSLPA provided many recommendations on how to avoid these situations in the future. But Alvarado and Chuang’s claims certainly make it sound like there are still major problems with the Wave. And the team’s strong “defamatory” argument and accusations that Alvarado “made up” the email are interesting, too. It seems likely that much more will come of this in the coming weeks.