Whistleblower blasts review that found Whitecaps' response to misconduct allegations was appropriate

A former Vancouver Whitecaps player and whistleblower says an independent investigation into the club's response to allegations of misconduct by former women's coaches Bob Birarda and Hubert Busby Jr. was not thorough and lacked independence.

The report, prepared for Major League Soccer by lawyers Janice Rubin and Melody Jahanzadeh of Rubin Thomlinson LLP, said the club's response was serious and "appropriate."

It also noted that while the club acted "expeditiously" in hiring an experienced workplace investigator, there were issues with the investigation itself.

The report also said the investigations were "superficial and lacking in depth."

It concludes some of the investigator's findings "seemed overly generous" to Birarda and Busby, despite the evidence about their misconduct towards players.

'Very expensive PR piece'

Ciara McCormack, the former Whitecaps player who first spoke out about alleged abusive behaviour on the part of Birarda, said the 18-page report "seemed more just like a very expensive PR piece."

MLS hired the law firm in November to review how the Whitecaps dealt with sexual misconduct allegations against Birarda in 2008 and Busby in 2011. 

McCormack said she and a group of former players did not take part in the investigation, after their lawyer asked the law firm if there was going to be solicitor-client privilege for MLS, and did not get a response.  

"Obviously our lawyer wrote back saying, 'Well, we're not participating because it's obviously not independent.'"

Birarda also served as coach for the Canadian women's under-20 team, and a separate independent review released in late July concluded Canada Soccer "mishandled" sexual harassment allegations involving him in 2008.

McCormack said the Canada Soccer report was far more detailed than the one released Thursday, which "just brushed over the whole thing."

"It was quite a damning report for those people that were involved with Canada Soccer in the Whitecaps at the time," she said of the 125-page report by McLaren Global Sport Solutions.

"But it's not the norm."

Whitecaps' response 'appropriate': report

The Rubin Thomlinson report said the Whitecaps' response to allegations against Birarda and Busby Jr. were "appropriate," in that the club hired an investigator, "relied on the investigator's judgment and apparent expertise, and adhered to all of the investigator's recommendations at the conclusion of each investigation.''

The report said investigator Anne Chopra's recommendation that Birarda receive one-on-one coaching and sign a commitment letter "appears disproportionate to the severity of the matter — namely, that Mr. Birarda as a coach in a position of power had sent sexualized messages to a young female player."

"We query whether this was an appropriate recommendation,'' it added.

In February, Birarda pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation for sexual touching for offences between 1988 and 2008. His sentencing hearing is set to continue on Sept. 2.

Busby has been accused of pressuring a former player for sex in 2011 when he was head coach of the Whitecaps women's team. The allegation has not been tested in court.

Busby has denied the allegations.

Both coaches left the team in the wake of the allegations.

'It's clear that we could have done better'

In a statement, Whitecaps CEO Axel Schuster commended women who came forward and said the club wants to work with them to "ensure respect and dignity are embedded into the DNA of our organization.

"While Rubin Thomlinson's report found that our organization took the allegations seriously and acted on the expert advice of an external investigator, it's clear that we could have done better, especially in how we supported and communicated with our players,'' Schuster said.

"To the women who were affected, our staff, players, and community, we are truly sorry."