Pierre Soubrier, the head athletic trainer, was investigated for providing medication containing codeine to players during the club’s playoff semifinal match against the San Diego Wave. Sophie Clough, the assistant coach, was investigated for giving a player an unwanted kiss on the neck during the club’s championship celebrations.

The NWSL recommended in its investigations that both Soubrier and Clough be placed on unpaid leave for a year, but the Thorns decided to fire them both instead.

The firings mark yet another scandal for an organization that has been beset by them since The Athletic first reported in September 2021 that former manager Paul Riley was accused of harassing and sexually coercing members of the club’s playing staff. Since then, the club has experienced an extraordinarily tumultuous series of events: top executives Gavin Wilkinson and Mike Golub were fired, manager Riann Wilkinson resigned after expressing romantic feelings for a player, and owner Merritt Paulson resigned as CEO and announced in December that he would sell the Thorns while retaining control of the Portland Timbers.

With these two firings, only a handful of senior members from last season’s championship-winning technical staff are still with the club. Mike Norris has been promoted to head coach, while former Timbers fullback Vytas Andriuškevičius remains as an assistant and former Thorns goalkeeper Nadine Angerer remains as the goalkeeping coach.