ORLANDO, Fla. -- The National Women’s Soccer League has terminated the contracts of both Orlando Pride head coach Amanda Cromwell and assistant coach Sam Greene.

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Monday’s announcement follows a months-long investigation into allegations of verbal abuse and inappropriate favoritism of players. The NWSL released its findings of their investigation Monday, saying back in March, team counsel investigated those allegations, substantiated some of them and both Cromwell and Greene received written warnings.

Two months later, the NWSL investigative team received word that both Cromwell and Greene engaged in retaliatory conduct toward Pride players that supported the investigation. The NWSL says they went as far as seeking to waive or trade players involved.

Both Cromwell and Greene were placed on administrative leave in June and their contracts were terminated on Monday.

The search for a new head coach begins immediately.

Orlando Pride chairman Mark Wilf released the following statement:

We would like to thank our players, staff and the Joint Investigative Team for their commitment to ensure a thorough and transparent investigation. Our organization has received a review of the findings regarding retaliatory conduct toward Pride players and supports the actions taken by the National Women’s Soccer League, including the league’s decision to terminate the contracts of Amanda Cromwell and Sam Greene, effective immediately.

Our Club is dedicated to providing a safe, inclusive and respectful environment, and we apologize to our players who may have experienced otherwise. We are committed to learning from this process as we continue to build and grow the Pride into the premier organization our players and fans deserve. As a step in that process, we will be implementing anti-retaliation training for all Pride staff members, on both the Soccer Operations side and in the front office.

As we move forward, we will work with our coaching staff to determine the best next steps for all parties.

We recognize that hiring the Club’s next head coach is a critical step forward, and we will immediately begin a process to identify a leader that will embody the values of our organization, bring a competitive roster to the field and, most importantly, protect and advocate for our players.

Our league is in the middle of an important and necessary moment of systemic change. As a Club, we will support the recommendations of last week’s Yates report, as well as the findings and feedback from the anticipated NWSL/NWSLPA joint investigation. We are committed to doing our part to ensure, as an organization, we are building the best environment and culture possible, while collectively establishing a stronger and safer NWSL.

We look forward to continuing our support of the team’s efforts on and off the field, as we build toward the 2023 season and beyond.

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