Whitecaps react to prison sentence for coach who sexually assaulted players

After former Vancouver Whitecaps women’s coach Bob Birarda was sentenced to prison time, the team’s CEO Axel Schuster issued a statement praising the four young players who told police what their coach had done to them.

In February, Birarda pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual touching involving the then-teenage players. He was sentenced on Wednesday to 16 months in prison followed by eight months of house arrest and three years probation.

“Today is a significant moment and it is important to first commend the brave women who have come forward and shared their experiences with Birarda, spanning from 1988 to 2008,” said Schuster.

Birarda was relieved of his coaching duties with the Whitecaps women’s team and the national under 20 women’s team when allegations of improper relationships with young players first came to light in 2008.

But the criminal investigation that led to the charges only happened in 2019, after another former Whitecaps player, Ciara McCormack, published a blog outlining the allegations, and sounding the alarm that Birarda was still coaching teenage girls.

“I’m just grateful that it did hopefully empower other people to come forward and from this place we can move forward and collectively make sure something like this never happens again,” said McCormack, who added those who enabled Birarda have a lot to answer for.

“Obviously, Birarda as an individual is facing consequences, but there was a whole crew of people from both the Whitecaps and Canada Soccer that played a role in covering this up, and it’s in black and white from the McLaren report that came out a couple of months ago,” said McCormack.

That report found Birarda operated without oversight and was considered God-like, an environment that made young female players afraid to speak out.

“There is a whole community of people that allowed this to happen in their silence, and I hope that they see people are going to continue to speak up,” said McCormack. “I do hope that sends a message to the enablers that they are better off to do the right thing on the spot, because eventually it will catch up to them.”

In his statement, Schuster acknowledged the hurt felt across the soccer community, saying: “We are truly sorry to everyone who has been impacted and I hope that today is a step forward in the healing process for all the victims affected.”

Schuster added the team has made changes since Birarda was let go in 2008.

“As a club, we are taking actions beyond our words and have dedicated resources to reach a higher standard today,” he said.

McCormack said the two-year sentence, which is considerably longer than what Birarda’s lawyer had argued for, brings some closure.

“I think it's just the closing of a chapter that, unfortunately, should have been closed 15 years ago,” she said. “The fact that (the sentence) was on the higher end … I don’t know if fair is the right word. I don't think it will ever cover the suffering a lot of people went through. But I think at the end of the day, the most important thing is the truth came out.”