Upheaval among Utah's soccer teams takes another turn

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Utah Royals coach Craig Harrington has been placed on a leave of absence in the latest round of tumult to hit owner Dell Loy Hansen's Utah Soccer Holdings.

The Royals confirmed shortly after the start of the team's game against the Portland Thorns Sunday that Harrington and assistant Louis Lancaster were both put on leave and assistant Amy LePeilbet was named interim head coach. No reason was given for the move.

Following the game, a 3-0 loss to the Thorns, LePeilbet said the move was made swiftly but offered no additional details.

Team captain Amy Rodriguez said: “Right now, the club has told me that I am not in a position to comment about the staff at this time."

But Rodriguez hinted at internal strife in the organization.

“We’ve been through a lot this week. And I will say that we’ve had to lean on each other a lot. And with Amy LePeilbet leading our ship right now, we’re going to look to her as far as the next step,” Rodriguez said.

Utah Soccer Holdings includes the Royals of the National Women’s Soccer League, Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer and the USL’s Real Monarchs.

Hansen is looking to sell the teams in the wake of a scandal that erupted after he made controversial remarks about Real Salt Lake's decision not to play a match on Aug. 26. Players from the NBA, WNBA, MLS and Major League Baseball all decided not to play that day to protest racial injustice following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha Wisconsin.

Shortly thereafter allegations surfaced that Hansen had used a racist slur in the past and made other racially charged comments. He apologized in a statement to fans.

Utah Soccer Holdings executive Andy Carroll was also placed on a leave earlier this month while the team investigated allegations of...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Upheaval-among-Utah-s-soccer-teams-takes-another-15582915.php