After fan outcry, Sporting KC & sporting director Gavin Wilkinson mutually part ways
Sporting Kansas City is reversing course on a controversial hire after the club received a notable amount of fan backlash. The club announced on Friday it is “mutually” parting ways with Gavin Wilkinson, KC’s newly hired sporting director.
Sporting was met with immediate criticism over the hiring of Wilkinson, who was formerly an executive with the Portland Timbers and Thorns. While in Portland, Wilkinson was fired after multiple investigations into the organization’s handling of alleged misconduct by players and coaches.
“We want to share with the Sporting Kansas City community that we have mutually agreed with Gavin Wilkinson to release him from his recently announced role with our club,” co-owner Mike Illig said in a statement included in a Friday morning news release. “In making this difficult decision, we want to first acknowledge the passion of our fans, our community of supporters, our partners and our stakeholders. Together, they comprise our deeply valued Sporting family. Our action today demonstrates our longstanding, unequivocal respect for their voices, and the belief that we are all stronger when we listen to one another.”
Illig said Sporting “ran a diligent and exhaustive process to identify our new sporting director.”
“It was grounded in the deeply held principles and standards we have adhered to since the day we acquired the team,” Illig continued. “That said, the impassioned response from our fans reinforced to us a fundamental philosophy that has driven us since Day One: to honor and protect our valued relationships. It is in that spirit that we take this action today, reflective of our abiding appreciation for our unrivaled SKC fans and our Kansas City community.”
Much of the outcry over Wilkinson’s hiring centered around The Sally Yates investigation, which was commissioned by U.S. Soccer and focused on misconduct around the Thorns’ ouster of coach Paul Riley for cause in 2015.
The report found Wilkinson blamed player Mana Shim, an alleged victim of Riley’s sexual abuse, “for putting Riley in a bad position,” and told another NWSL club that he would “hire him in a heartbeat.”
Wilkinson called the allegations detailed in the Yates report “hearsay.”
“That did not happen,” he said during his introductory news conference in Kansas City last week. “I did not recommend Paul Riley, but I did not tell them not to hire him, and that’s where I’m saying I should have done more at that moment. ...
“I should have done more in my previous role to protect and empower female athletes and not hide behind legal advice. I should have been able to stand on my own two feet, question the process, find out more information, and make a more informed decision.”
Almost immediately after Wilkinson’s hire in KC, several Sporting fan groups and community members, including the club’s two largest fan organizations — The Cauldron and South Stand supporters group — expressed concerns.
In a statement released on social media, The Cauldron said Sporting “agreed to make Gavin Wilkinson available for a Q&A with Sporting Supporters to give us an opportunity to directly voice concerns, ask questions and hold Gavin accountable.”
Sporting had previously defended the hire in a news conference, with Illig telling reporters the club “concluded that in Portland, there were acknowledged lapses in judgment and that certain aspects of the situation should have been handled much differently. We also concluded that, ultimately, Gavin is a strong, principled individual worthy of a second chance.”
During a brief call with The Star on Tuesday, Sporting KC president and CEO Jake Reid did not comment directly on the fan backlash but did say the team hoped to get Wilkinson in front of fans “sooner rather than later.”
“We’re excited to still get Gavin in front of folks,” Reid said. “We want to do a Q&A, a town hall with not just the core supporters, but any fans in general.”
That will no longer happen, as Wilkinson and the club have parted ways.