AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee

Ex-Whitecaps Women's Coach Hubert Busby Jr. Accused of Soliciting Sex From Player

Scott Polacek

Malloree Enoch said Hubert Busby Jr. attempted to solicit sex from her when she was a player and he was the head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps women's team.

The Associated Press (h/t Sportsnet) reported Enoch said Busby acted inappropriately toward her in 2010 and 2011, made her room with him on road trips and pressured her to have sex with him. She also said Dan Lenarduzzi, who was the team's soccer development director, did not take immediate action when she told him about the behavior.

Busby's contract with Vancouver was not renewed after it expired in October 2011.

Notably, a number of players on the team raised concerns about him to management before the contract was not renewed. 

Busby is now the head coach of Jamaica's women's team, and the AP reported the country's football federation plans on meeting with him about the allegations on Nov. 2.

The AP also noted this is not the first time a Whitecaps women's coach has been accused of abuse, as Ciara McCormack previously used a 2019 blog post to allege former Canadian women's under-20 coach Bob Birarda was abusive.

The former Whitecaps coach was charged with six counts of sexual exploitation, two counts of sexual assault and one count of child luring. Canada Soccer said it will conduct a "transparent, independent review of the investigation of allegations."

Enoch revealed yet another example of alleged abuse in North American women's soccer.

Earlier this month, the National Women's Soccer League announced it was "launching several critical investigative and reform initiatives to protect players and staff and the environments in which athletes live, train and compete to give athletes the agency and ability to safely report misconduct of any form."

The Athletic's Meg Linehan reported Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly said they were abused by former North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley.

The NWSL Players Association released a list of demands that called for "systemic transformation" to "end the culture of silence."

NWSL players stopped matches earlier this month to show solidarity for those who said they were abused in the league.              

   

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