SAN DIEGO — San Diego Wave President Jill Ellis filed a defamation lawsuit on Monday against a former team videographer who alleged on social media that the club leader’s “abusive” and “toxic” behavior was detrimental to employees’ mental health.
The women’s soccer club, founded in 2021, came under national scrutiny in early July when former video and creative manager Brittany Alvarado posted on X that she endured “an environment where my mental health was relentlessly compromised” at the club while working there from 2023 to June 2024 and that Ellis fostered an environment where abusive behaviors thrived and female employees were discriminated against.
Alvarado’s post also urged the NWSL to remove Ellis from the Wave and the league as a whole to protect staff and players, stating that “Jill Ellis has no place in this game, and she has been excused for far too long.”
The post garnered nearly 2 million views and spurred other former Wave employees to post about their mental health struggles while working at Wave and how they had not received support from club management when they sought help.
On July 29, Ellis filed a lawsuit against Alvarado in San Diego County Superior Court, claiming that Alvarado’s social media post was entirely false, defamatory and caused irreparable harm to her reputation as a two-time World Cup-winning National Women’s Team coach.
“Constructive critiques about her decisions and leadership style are fair game and welcome. However, malicious, false and defamatory lies targeted at ruining her personal and professional reputation and targeting her workplace are not,” the complaint states. “This lawsuit is necessary to redress the significant injuries that Defendant has maliciously caused to Ellis and her hard-earned, world-renowned reputation.”
The Coast News reached out multiple times to Alvarado’s attorney, Casey Hultin of Hultin Law, for comment. Hultin did share a statement with the Associated Press in response to the filing.
“Our client, a courageous former employee, has stepped forward to exercise her First Amendment rights, shining a light on the pervasive gender discrimination and emotional abuse within the organization. Her voice, echoing the experiences of many, calls for immediate and substantial change to protect both staff and athletes from further harm,” Hultin said. “This is not just a plea for justice; it’s a demand for a safe, respectful, and equitable environment for all.”
The lawsuit states that in February, Alvarado had brought forward a complaint about the workplace at Wave to the National Women’s Soccer League, but an investigation found no violations of league policy.
Despite this, and the fact that Ellis had only spoken to Alvarado once during her employment, Alvarado chose to mention Ellis in her July 3 post in order to draw more attention and engagement, the lawsuit claims.
For those who have endured abuse.
For those who are afraid to speak up.
I see you and I will fight for you.This is for you.
The time for accountability in the @nwsl is now. pic.twitter.com/ljdC1XUHCQ
— Brittany Alvarado (@bavacado2) July 3, 2024
As a result, Ellis has faced public backlash and a cascade of international media stories about the allegations, which have caused the cancellation of speaking engagements and the postponement of an honorary degree from a prestigious university. Damages are continuing to grow, she said.
“Defendant knowingly included Ellis in the False and Defamatory statements, despite not making any allegations against Ellis in her earlier anonymous complaint to the League, and did so to capitalize on Ellis’s renown, internationally expand the reach of her … Statements, and magnify the injuries that those statements would cause to Ellis,” the complaint stated.
Alvarado’s post also mentioned past abuse and misconduct by NWSL coaches against players uncovered in two 2022 investigative reports. Ellis states in the legal complaint that Alvarado’s post implies Ellis was one of the coaches involved in misconduct when she was not.
Work conduct, ‘fraudulent’ emails
The post also included a screenshot from an email that she said came from a senior leadership member in mid-June, soon after her resignation. The email called her “pathetic,” among other insults. The name and email of the sender were not included in the screenshot.
Ellis’s lawsuit states that this email was fraudulent, and sent from a Hotmail account purporting to be Wave employee Justyne Freud. Two other Wave employees also received emails from the same Hotmail account that day, according to the lawsuit.
One of the emails, sent to NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman and Wave’s head of HR Lisa Lopez, falsely stated that Freud was resigning from the league and “no longer had the patience for the stupidity of this league, the employees, and most, Jill Ellis.” Another was sent to an employee, falsely telling him he was fired.
In the complaint, Ellis said she “is informed and believes” that Alvarado took part in or was responsible for the fake emails, although she did not provide any evidence.
Ellis’s complaint also attacked Alvarado’s work performance and conduct, citing “serious issues” during her employment at Wave. These included instances where Alvarado interacted with players at games rather than recording content and violated professional boundaries by socializing with them outside of work.
Alvarado’s post on X noted that she had a “deep bond of trust” with Wave players and that she felt very supported by former coach Casey Stone, who was fired in late June.
According to the lawsuit, soon after filing her complaint with the NWSL, Alvarado submitted an accommodation request to Wave to work remotely for six weeks. Alvarado was granted a leave of absence but then voluntarily resigned from the club in June after being unable to agree on further accommodations for her return to work.
The defamation complaint does not discuss allegations made in X posts by other former Wave employees in early July. These posts did not mention Ellis by name but described mental health struggles while working at Wave, similar to Alvarado’s.
Former Wave FC photographer Jenny Chuang’s post said she was placed on suicide watch while working for the club in 2022 and was pressured to resign after seeking help.
Former senior communications manager Bernadette O’Donnell said she communicated multiple times to HR and club executives that she was struggling with severe mental health issues during her tenure with the team and that she “didn’t want to be alive most of the time” by the end.
“After opening up to my boss about my mental health as well as the unhealthy work environment, plus alerting her to an ongoing investigation at the time, I was put on forced leave the next day ‘to address personal issues and work performance.’ I was terminated from my job three days later,” said O’Donnell, who worked at the club from mid-2022 to late 2023.
A hearing in the defamation case against Alvarado is scheduled for early January 2025.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated to add a comment from Brittany Alvarado’s attorney, Casey Hultin.
