The Vancouver Whitecaps' biggest fans staged another walkout this weekend to protest the club's handling of bullying and abuse allegations against a former coach.
The team faced off against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday afternoon, but members of the Southsiders said they wouldn't stick around to cheer them on for the whole game.
The supporter group said that's because executives have "not materially addressed any of the ongoing concerns" raised by former soccer player Ciara McCormack and other women.
"We are still committed to supporting the women who have come forward with their stories of abuse and harassment," the Southsiders said on its website. "Until they have had their concerns addressed to their satisfaction, our clubs' executives and owners must hear (and) see our displeasure at their handling of this matter."
The Southsiders also said they're meeting with Whitecaps executives and a "representative of the ownership group" at some point this weekend.
The team's troubles began earlier this year when McCormack published a blog post outlining a string of bullying and harassment allegations involving a man who coached the Whitecaps women's team in 2008 and worked with the Canadian women's national team program.
McCormack also accused officials of failing to adequately respond after the incidents were reported.
"They were told that there was potential sexual inappropriateness with underage players and the police were not called. That's what I feel like the Whitecaps have to answer for," McCormack told CTV News in February.
Since the blog was published, 12 unnamed members of the Canada's national women's soccer program also released a statement detailing allegations of "inappropriate behaviour" involving the same coach and calling for an independent investigation into how complaints were handled.
Before the last walkout, the Whitecaps acknowledged complaints were brought forward to senior management in 2008, which prompted the team to bring in an independent ombudsperson to conduct a review.
"As you would expect, the Ombudsperson had access to players and staff to conduct confidential interviews and gather information on an anonymous basis. Upon conclusion of the investigation, while the Ombudsperson had no recommendations for further action, the club and coach parted ways," the club said.
The team said it ultimately decided to reach out to police at the start of April after new allegations came to light.
"We were concerned there may be new information related to this matter that did not come forward in 2008 or since. Therefore, we immediately contacted the Vancouver Police Department," the Whitecaps said. "Since then, we have been in active communication with the VPD to offer our full and ongoing support and cooperation. As the matter is now with the authorities we encourage anyone with information that may be helpful to reach out to VPD directly."
Like last time, the Southsiders walked out around the 35-minute mark of Saturday's game.
