Another Ignominious Failure

The only surprise about the U.S. woman’s soccer investigation is that no one is surprised.

The report is horrifying: "Our investigation has revealed a league in which abuse and misconduct -- verbal and emotional abuse and sexual misconduct -- had become systemic, spanning multiple teams, coaches, and victims." "Abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women's soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coaching and blurs boundaries between coaches and players."

Why was all of this ignored and covered up? Because it could be. And the longer these horrors are covered up, the worse they get.

Smoke alarms and fire detectors are essential to preventing and detecting fires. The 911 system is essential to preventing and detecting crime. And notification systems are essential to preventing and detecting wrongful acts and conditions in organizations.

Smoke alarms and fire detectors are generally required by law and insurance companies. The government takes care of the 911 system.

But for nonpublic (don’t have publicly traded stock) entities - all the nonprofits, programs, schools, and businesses that are so much a part of our lives, the criminal and civil consequences of not having a notification system, while significant, are post-incident. And that’s obviously not enough.

This means it’s up to us; it’s up to you. At the very least, make sure that the organizations to which you entrust your loved ones have a system to protect them.