Ex-Washington Spirit Owner Steve Baldwin in Hot Water Anew: Report

Getty (L-R) Kelley O'Hara #5, team co-owner Y. Michele Kang and Devon Kerr #18 of Washington Spirit celebrate after winning the NWSL Championship held at Lynn Family Stadium on November 20, 2021.

Former Washington Spirit owner Steve Baldwin is in hot water anew over allegations of a toxic work environment that is strikingly similar to the reason he was forced to sell his controlling stakes in the National Women’s Soccer League franchise to then co-owner Michelle Kang in 2021.

According to footballcritic.com, Baldwin’s latest controversy stemmed from his summary dismissal of Jennifer Nelson, a former senior Amazon executive, from her role as the Chief Operating Officer of his tech startup company Finch AI last week.

The report added, “Nelson had been targeted by Baldwin because she voiced concerns about the abuse of women inside his new business.”

The female employees were shocked by Baldwin’s dismissal of Nelson, according to footballcritic.com.

Steve Baldwin’s NSWL Controversy Resurfaces

Nelson’s case was eerily similar to Balwdin’s fallout with Kang in 2021 which led to an open letter from Spirit players demanding Baldwin to relinquish his control of the franchise to Kang for creating a toxic working environment that employees described to the Washington Post in September 2021 as an “old boys club” culture.

An earlier Washington Post investigation in August 2021 found that several Spirit players left the team after experiencing verbal and emotional abuse from their former head coach, Richie Burke, who was hired by Baldwin in 2019. Burke was eventually banned for life in NSWL following a lengthy investigation.

The September 2021 Washington Post report also added that Baldwin took steps that sidelined Kang amid the controversies, after she had repeatedly raised concerns to Baldwin about the treatment of women in the organization.

The power struggle between the two owners of the club eventually ended in February 2022 with Baldwin reluctantly selling his controlling stakes to Kang, who received full backing from their players and unanimously approved by the NSWL board.

Several current and former female employees at Finch AI, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, have told footballcritic.com “that Baldwin’s management style mirrors the toxic environment he was accused of fostering at the Washington Spirit.”

Discrimination Against Women

The issue of discrimination against women in the tech industry remains pressing. A 2023 survey by Women Who Tech found that 57% of women founders had experienced discrimination within the past year, with 42% reporting instances of sexual slurs directed at them by male colleagues.

In sports, a Unesco study in 2023 uncovered that 31.8% of female athletes were reported being punished with excessive training or exercise compared to 26.0% of male athletes. The Unesco study also added that during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, female athletes were the targets of 87% of online abuse. Female athletes are also more susceptible to sexual abuse than their male counterparts. The study found that 21% of female respondents compared to 11% of male respondents have experienced one form of sexual abuse at least once as a child in sport.

According to footballcritic.com, several Spirit players have called for the NWSL to reopen its investigation into Baldwin.

“They expressed frustration that Baldwin has yet to face accountability for the alleged abuses at the Washington Spirit and voiced concern that he is now replicating these behaviors in the tech sector,” the report said.

A spokesperson for the NWSL confirmed to footballcritic.com that the investigation into player abuse remains ongoing.