Baird believes she acted appropriately and didn't ignore allegations of misconduct.

For the first time since resigning last year, Former NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird released a statement regarding how she acted when allegations of misconduct surfaced.

These allegations were against former Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage manager Paul Riley.

In an interview with ESPN’s Lisa Salters, Baird commented: “If something was brought to me, I followed up on it.” The interview was for the documentary Truth Be Told: The Fight For Women's Professional Soccer.

When asked if she’d do anything differently, Baird replied: “Well, you know, I could second-guess myself a lot.

“I've had a lot of time to reflect on this. I'm sure there are things that I could do differently. I think, right now, I made the best decisions I could with the information I had at the time.”

Players within the league feel drastically different than how Baird does.

In September 2021, The Athletic reported that ex-Thorns players Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly brought accusations of sexual harassment and coercion against Riley to the team but nothing was done.

Baird said she was “shocked and disgusted” by what was reported in The Athletic. However, San Diego Wave forward Alex Morgan tweeted out screenshots of an email exchange between Baird and Farrelly.

Baird declined to open an investigation and instead emailed back “the initial complaint was investigated to a conclusion.”

We’ll have to see if any players accept the statements released by Baird or if more come out and reveal other emails that could've potentially been sent regarding the allegations.