SAN DIEGO — A sixth ex-employee of San Diego Wave FC has joined an ongoing lawsuit against the soccer club and the National Women’s Soccer League, alleging sexual harassment from a past supervisor.
The plaintiff, Jane Doe 2, was added to the lawsuit in an amended complaint filed in San Diego County Superior Court. The original complaint was filed in early October by five former employees — Brittany Alvarado, Abigail Lozano, Victoria Diaz, Kristina Perez, and another Jane Doe — who worked for Wave at various points between 2022 and 2024.
The amended complaint seeks damages for several allegations, including disability discrimination, racial discrimination, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, failure to investigate and prevent discrimination and harassment, violation of sick leave policy, and retaliation.
Doe 2 was employed by Wave from spring 2022 to summer 2023 as an ambassador, according to the amended complaint. She would complete part-time work at community events and home games, with all scheduling and supervision for her role handled by a supervisor referred to in the complaint as E.R.
Beginning soon after she was employed, Doe 2 said E.R. started to send her frequent Snapchats that quickly grew inappropriate, including unsolicited photos of his penis. He would also ask her to hang out at his apartment, which she declined.
After declining his advances, Doe 2 said E.R. scheduled her for fewer and fewer shifts and would make excuses as to why, which she believed to be retaliation.
“When Jane Doe 2 asked E.R. about getting on the schedule more, E.R. told her there were more ambassadors than there were assignments. Jane Doe 2 struggled to get any assignments at all after E.R. became aware Jane Doe 2 was dating someone later in 2022,” the amended complaint states.
By August of 2023, she received notice of termination paperwork from Wave FC due to not meeting the minimum number of shifts for part-time employees.
The complaint alleges that Wave FC only terminated E.R. after Doe 2 reported the harassment to the club’s Human Resources in July 2024.
Another plaintiff, Jane Doe 1, also stated in the original complaint that she was sexually assaulted and harassed by the same employee, E.R., during her employment with Wave FC.
The first assault, Doe 1 said, took place in her first week on the job in 2022, after he offered to show her around the city and then pressured her into non-consensual sex that left her with injuries.
For around a year after, he continually harassed her and threatened that there would be consequences if she told anyone, the complaint states. Doe 1 did not report the assaults to Wave management or the police at the time.
Doe 1 said her mental health deteriorated due to the toxic work environment at Wave, where she said she faced burnout and a lack of support, as well as the ongoing harassment from E.R., resulting in her taking medical leave.
In October 2023, Doe 1 said she disclosed the full extent of her struggles to a supervisor, including that an employee, who she did not name, was “traumatizing” her. The next day, she was placed on leave and then terminated.
Following her termination, Doe 1 said she reached out to Wave to ask how to report a sexual assault by an employee and was sent a workers’ compensation injury form by the club. She eventually reported the alleged assaults to the NWSL.
In their response, Doe 1 said the NWSL claimed that they were not obligated to take any action because she had used the term “assault” instead of “sexual assault” in her report.
“Defendant NWSL’s findings, which were communicated to Jane Doe 1 and in complete contradiction to their own published policies, were biased and insufficient, ultimately failing to protect Jane Doe 1 and other employees from ongoing harassment,” the complaint states.
The NWSL has previously stated that the league conducted two investigations into the Wave front offices but that no violations of league policy were found. The league has said that they will not release the findings of these investigations to protect the privacy of those involved.
“The NWSL has previously received reports of misconduct in the San Diego front office. Those reports were investigated by an independent third party and we are satisfied with the results, including the finding that there was no violation of league policy in connection with the reported conduct,” the league said in October.
Gearing up for its third season in San Diego, Wave FC drew national scrutiny last summer after Alvarado and other former club employees took to social media with accusations of a toxic workplace and mistreatment by former club president Jill Ellis.
Ellis, who left the club for an executive role at FIFA in December, sued Alvarado for defamation last summer due to her posts on social media. That lawsuit is ongoing.
The next hearing in the case against Wave FC and the NWSL is scheduled for March.
