U.S. Soccer Federation officials Wednesday denied that former national women’s team coach Anson Dorrance resigned four years ago because of any inappropriate conduct with a player.
Dorrance, the head women’s coach at the University of North Carolina, is a defendant in a federal civil lawsuit filed in Chicago Tuesday. Part of the complaint by former North Carolina player and Naperville native Debbie Keller and current North Carolina student Melissa Jennings alleges that “UNC was aware that it was rumored that Dorrance had resigned from his position as U.S. Women’s National Soccer Coach because he had engaged in a sexual relationship with a player on the U.S. women’s national team.”
The lawsuit argues that the university, which also is a defendant, should have taken that and other information into account in evaluating Dorrance’s fitness to be coach.
Hank Steinbrecher, executive director of the Chicago-based federation, and Alan Rothenberg, the immediate past president, said they never received any complaints about Dorrance’s conduct. Dorrance coached the national team from 1986-94, and Steinbrecher and Rothenberg overlapped with him from 1990-94.
Steinbrecher said Dorrance, who retained the North Carolina job throughout his tenure with the national team and had become increasingly busy with camps, clinics and appearances, stepped down on his own. The timing was not ideal for the federation, as the women’s team was then preparing for the 1995 women’s world championships and was less than two years away from the inaugural women’s Olympic tournament.
“It was kind of out of the blue,” Steinbrecher recalled. “He said he had had enough, that he wanted more family time. I tried to talk him out of it, but his mind was made up.”
Rothenberg said he got nothing but good reviews of Dorrance’s performance. “Nobody ever made any allegations to me,” said Rothenberg, who was succeeded by Dr. Bob Contiguglia last week in the USSF’s quadrennial elections.
Steinbrecher said he would consult with federation lawyers to determine whether that group should conduct its own inquiry into Dorrance’s past conduct.
The announcement of the lawsuit sent seismic waves through the coaching ranks in women’s soccer, where Dorrance could be regarded as the center of a three-degrees-of-separation game. Literally dozens of coaches around the country either played for or were assistants to Dorrance during his 20-year tenure at North Carolina, including Northwestern’s Marcia McDermott and Ohio State’s Lori Walker.
University of Michigan head women’s coach Debbie Belkin, a defender on the Dorrance-coached national team that won the first women’s world championship in 1991, said she was shocked when she learned about the lawsuit.
“He’s had a lot of players and people pass through his program over the years, and nothing like this has ever been said before,” Belkin said. “I don’t know all the details (of the lawsuit), so I wouldn’t comment on that, but I never saw any (inappropriate behavior).”
The charges also come as women’s college soccer continues its exponential growth in popularity. In 1997, 229 teams competed at the Division I level, compared with 82 in 1990. University of Utah associate athletic director Amy Hackett, head of the NCAA’s women’s soccer committee, said she expects another 15 to 25 teams to be added this year, when the championship bracket will be expanded to 48.
“Anson has done more for women’s soccer than anyone else in the country, both at the national level and at UNC,” Hackett said. “I have no opinion on what’s happened, but you don’t want to see anything like this tarnish the sport, especially when it’s growing so much.”
Members of the women’s national team could not be reached for comment. The team will gather on the East Coast early next month for the U.S. Women’s Cup, a four-team international tournament that is part of preparations for next year’s Women’s World Cup to be held in the United States.
Keller, one of the national team’s top players, has been named to the roster for that tournament. Former North Carolina players make up the veteran nucleus of the team, making for a potentially tricky situation if players were to divide on the issue of the lawsuit.
Mia Hamm, the most widely recognized name in women’s soccer, continues to serve as a part-time volunteer coach at North Carolina. She played on four NCAA title teams coached by Dorrance.
“I’m sure Mia would tell you that her experience with Carolina was positive, or she wouldn’t be giving back at a time when she’s so busy,” said Hamm’s New York-based agent, David Bober.
“Hopefully, the players will let the system decide the issue, and focus their energies on the immediate goal of winning the World Cup.”
