KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On Friday, Sporting KC and Gavin Wilkinson announced they mutually agreed to part ways.
Wilkinson’s hire drew great criticism after he was fired from his previous clubs for his role in hiding sexual harassment allegations against a former coach.
Sporting KC first introduced Wilkinson as new Sporting Director on January 11th at a news conference.
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"People were feeling upset; they were feeling let down by the choices the front office had made, and they thought that we as a group of women needed to get out there and say something about this," Carrie Davis said.
Davis and her group, Ladies of SKC, felt called to action.
The fan group released a statement of their own on social media and encouraged fans and community members to aid their fight in removing Wilkinson from his position.
"It was really just an outcry from the women within our group asking us to say something," Davis said.
Wilkinson previously served as the President and GM of the MLS's Portland Timbers and the NWSL's Portland Thorns, but was fired from both.
Wilkinson's name appears 50 times in the Yates Report, a U.S. soccer investigation that exposed years of abusive behavior and sexual misconduct in women's professional soccer.
This is because of his role in concealing sexual harassment allegations against former coach Paul Riley.
Davis said whether you're responsible for the action or you're just the one hiding it, doesn't make a difference.
"There is a tendency for a lot of people to say, 'Well you weren't the direct abuser, therefore we're not really concerned about what you did,'" she said. "But I think those people might be living a little bit in the past."
During his hiring announcement, Wilkinson said he recognized he should have done more to protect and empower women athletes in his previous role.
Davis said this hiring goes directly against what Sporting KC stands for.
"They mentioned that they were going to hire based on those values and principles; what are those values and principles?" she said.
Friday morning, just eight days later, Principal owner Michael Illig announced a mutual agreement to part ways with Wilkinson.
"At this point, we're just really happy that they heard us, that they listened to the concerns of the fans, and that we're going to move forward from this and be able to focus on cheering for some soccer," Davis said.
But still, Davis said Wilkinson's hire, leaves questions.
"What is the hiring process? How are things gonna change in the future to make sure something like this doesn't happen again?" she said.
Below is the full statement from Illig:
"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.
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.
We 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.
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."
Sporting KC declined an interview for more information and referred us back to the original statement, but said finding Wilkinson’s replacement comes next, and that those details will be revealed as they evaluate those next steps."
