Women’s soccer trainer fired for giving players painkillers

By RONALD BLUM
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The Portland Thorns have fired their athletic trainer after an outside investigation found he illegally distrubted a controlled substance to players, the National Women’s Soccer League said. The NWSL, beset in recent years by abuse and misconduct allegations, announced that the trainer, Pierre Soubrier, was fired along with Thorns assistant coach Sophie Clough. Soubrier is married to U.S. women’s team defender Crystal Dunn. The league said Clough made unwanted contact with a player. The league also said abuse allegations against former Washington Spirit coach Kris Ward were substantiated and he is ineligible to work in the NWSL without the commissioner’s approval. An investigation concluded Ward engaged in “negative racial stereotyping toward a player.”