On June 30, 2022, the players of FC Austin Elite hit the wall. After years of frustrations about how they were being treated by the club’s owner and general manager, Danny Woodfill, the final straw came when he announced the firing of head coach Christiane Lessa.
“We showed up at practice at seven in the morning, Danny handed players a sheet of paper and it says he has decided to part ways with Lessa,” Bethany Cyrtmus, a senior player and leader for the Elite, told The Striker via video call on Saturday, July 2.
With Elite leading the UWS league’s Southwest division, plus being ranked fifth (out of 49 teams) in the nationwide league, the players struggled to comprehend what could have caused Woodfill to make the decision — and their decision to speak out prompted a United Women's Soccer (UWS) investigation that led, on Monday, to sanctions against Woodfill.
The investigation, according to The Striker's article, determined that Woodfill "engaged in verbal, financial, and procedural misconduct" during his tenure with FC Austin Elite, and as a result, "can no longer serve as an owner, General Manager, or in any other capacity of any team in the UWS."
While FC Austin Elite can continue on in UWS, it can only do so "only after [Woodfill] removes himself or divests himself of ownership and the removal is vetted and approved by the UWS, and the new ownership is vetted and approved per [UWS's] existing guidelines."
This article takes a look at what prompted the players to complain and then what transpired leading up to Monday's decision – starting with what some players found to be a perplexing decision to let Lessa go.
'It didn't make sense'
“It didn't make sense. We had 25 girls there questioning Danny,” Cyrtmus claimed. “Our coach is awesome. What is going on? There’s a narrative he tried to paint about a negative environment but this is our coach. We wanted her.”
“There was no conversation with either council or board regarding the potential firing of coach Lessa. One would think that’s something you would have.”
Members of the Elite players council also alerted The Striker that they had not held a meeting with Woodfill since April. When Woodfill was asked about why the player council meetings had not occurred, he said that there had been a clash between Tuesday night practices and the meetings scheduled at the same time.
Woodfill does contend he texted members of the players council in May about concerns he had regarding Lessa and that she may be removed.
While some Elite players recalled Woodfill reaching out to them weeks before Lessa’s firing, they felt he was fishing for a false reason to remove Lessa. The players report Woodfill spoke about a “negative environment” they didn’t perceive with their coach and team.
Why was Lessa fired?
Cyrtmus, a member of Elite since 2019, stated that Woodfill told the team that Lessa had objectives that she wasn’t meeting concerning her off-the-field responsibilities.
Woodfill asserted that, in addition to being the head coach, Lessa had responsibilities to grow the program, secure sponsorships and hire more coaches for Elite. On June 30, Woodfill used that list to rationalize the surprise firing of the successful head coach.
Lessa was originally hired by Woodfill in April. She says the advertisement for the job as the head coach of Elite was for a yearly salary of $75,000, but that she and Woodfill agreed upon $60,000. Lessa, who was moving to Austin from Miami, says that Woodfill agreed to include housing in her compensation. As Lessa looked for housing in Austin, she stayed in Woodfill’s house.
While living at Woodfill’s house, Lessa says it was difficult to talk about Elite on the premises. Woodfill’s wife in particular would get very frustrated if they talked about the team. She described living in Woodfill’s house as “hostile.”
“He got upset when I spoke about things, money or uniforms,” Lessa said about Woodfill. “There was no office. His wife used to say, 'I don't want to talk to him about soccer in the house.’ I was terrified of asking him for money.”
Woodfill claims this hostile environment was only created after a June incident in which Lessa was verbally abusive to his wife at the trio’s home in Round Rock.
At 11 p.m. on Wednesday, June 29, Woodfill texted Lessa and told her to meet him at the house at 7 a.m. the next morning. The next morning Lessa was informed by Woodfill that she was being let go. The same sheets of paper he will hand to Elite players, later that day, lay beside him in his house.
Lessa alleged Woodfill told her he would call the cops on her if she didn’t leave his house immediately on Thursday morning. Lessa gathered all her belongings, including her wet clothes from the dryer in Woodfill’s house, and rushed out.
Coach Lessa talking to her FC Austin Elite players in the locker room
How the Tigres trip factored in
For many years, Elite has been running at a deficit. This is very common for women’s soccer and men’s soccer, especially at the semi-professional level. In March 2022, Woodfill was beginning to become worried about some of the targets for the season due to a lack of sponsorships.
Woodfill says that key sponsors were only helping provide merchandise like balls or beer and not a significant monetary investment.
On April 9, just days into Lessa’s tenure as head coach, Elite played a friendly with Liga MX Femenil team UANL Tigres. Lessa claims that Woodfill covered all expenses for the Mexican team’s roster and staff, even while struggling to pay his own coach. Lessa alleges that Woodfill spent around $35,000 on Tigres’ Austin tour.
Although an official figure was not given to The Striker, Woodfill confirms that Elite covered all Tigres’ living expenses while they were in Austin. Woodfill saw the tour costs as an investment, claiming that Tigres is now obliged to do the same for the Elite at some point in the next year. Woodfill also added that Elite did not pay for the team’s trip to Six Flags.
In addition to garnering a tour to Monterrey, Mexico, Woodfill felt that the friendly could have been financially viable for the club if they sold enough tickets. The target had been to sell an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 tickets using local connections to LigaMX fan groups. As it played out, due to scheduling conflicts and disappointing ticket sales to the match, Elite would go on to lose a sizable sum of money from Tigres match.
Along with booking a match against Elite, Tigres were also booked to play the Texas Longhorns. Woodfill had hoped both matches would be at Round Rock Multipurpose Complex and therefore hosted by Elite. If that had been the case, Elite would have been able to make more revenue from tickets. Instead, the Longhorns vs. Tigres match was played at Mike A. Myers Stadium and, to make things worse, the attendance for the Elite vs. Tigres match was roughly a quarter of what Elite had been expecting.
How financial concerns mounted
Multiple Elite players told The Striker this month that they felt uncomfortable with how much money was being lost on making the Tigres friendly happen, all the while they were struggling to receive the support they had been promised in Austin from Woodfill.
One Elite player broke down before the Tigres match over the strenuous conditions of playing for the Austin club, while another spoke about being particularly hurt by seeing how much money was being spent on the Tigres’ premium food selections. Another was shocked to see the types of food - such as steak - being purchased for the team during their stay.
During the 2022 season, Woodfill promised up to eight players room, board and food in exchange for playing for Elite. Although the players and Woodfill confirm that this was fulfilled, there was tension and animosity surrounding the agreement.
The players living in a designated players’ house believe they were only allowed $400 to $600 a month for groceries. Woodfill claims this figure to be closer to $1,000. The players also contended that Woodfill voiced disdain and retaliation when they would spend too much money on food.
After the Tigres friendly in April, Lessa said that Woodfill wanted her to secure a friendly with the Jamaica national team because it was the only way to bring in more sponsors. Woodfill saw organizing the Jamaica match for the summer as a way of generating more money and opportunities, despite the growing concerns around Elite’s finances.
When Lessa argued that Elite didn’t have the money to put together that sort of match, and that the funds should be used on the current roster, she claimed Woodfill’s response was, “it’s not your job to question me.”
“I told him, ‘We need to take care of the girls,’” she contended. "'You’re in so much debt because of the Tigres game.’"
She then added, "He didn't listen to the players council or his wife. He didn't want to listen.”
Lessa attributes the lack of money she was receiving as the reason why she was unable to fulfill off-field-the responsibilities that Woodfill believes she was meant to achieve as part of her job title. She also claims that when she did bring her sponsors or investors to Woodfill he would decline the chance to work with them.
“How can I do what I was brought here to do if I’m put in a state of failure?” Lessa said.
“He asked me to get an assistant. ‘Oh we have a budget of $5,000 for assistants,’ he said. He never proved to me he had the budget. We have a volunteer coach who played with his daughter. Claudio [Ostrovich] showed up to the game, Felix [Oskam] showed up. They never got paid. I didn't have the courage to quit. I couldn't do it.”
Woodfill disputes that money factored into the firing of Lessa as Elite head coach. But does admit that he owes a few thousand dollars to a ticket sales representative that the club contracted and has since gone unpaid.
Several Elite players also told The Striker that Woodfill verbally and in texts promised them up to $1,000 a month in order to play for Elite. Certain players traveled many thousands of miles to come and play and quit their jobs for the Elite with the understanding they would receive that salary. That salary was agreed upon in addition to housing and food compensation. These players were also told there would be an Elite public signing day and a press conference to announce them.
These contracts were never signed or produced by Woodfill. He refutes that these players are contractually owed money.
One of the most consistent complaints from numerous Elite players is the unpaid season ticket revenue. When advertising season tickets, Woodfill publicly stated that 100% of season ticket sale revenue would go to the players.
Not a single Elite player claims to have received a portion of their money. Woodfill claims he did give the players the money because all the revenue went back into player housing and other administrative costs.
The Elite players were never told by Woodfill that would be the case. As The Striker understands it, there have only been up to seven players at a time living in the players' house. There are close to 25 players affiliated with Elite.
The investigation
Despite all these issues mounting, many players felt scared to speak out and isolated that their experiences were not shared by others. After many years of frustrations, they came together, found their voices, and discovered they were not alone.
On Friday, July 1, the players lodged an official complaint with a UWS league representative about Woodfill’s conduct and released a statement on social media announcing they would no longer play for Elite.
“Everyone thought it was an injustice,” Cyrtmus said. Our conversations [amongst the team] were about wanting to play. I went to bed that night and I thought I would play, but our team ended up sitting out. I had some conversations with coach Lessa, it added a lot of perspectives. As the day progressed, more and more people bowed out. Not playing is the best way to make a stand.”
These conversations between Elite players spurred on much wider issues with the environment at Elite over the past few years.
Numerous players say they received angry texts and retaliation if they played on other teams in the Austin area. They also claimed that long-tenured players of Elite would be iced out or not contacted if they started playing in the Austin Coed Soccer Association (ACSA) during the offseason, or if they played indoor soccer at all.
Woodfill denies retaliating against any player for playing soccer outside of Elite, though he does claim he’s voiced his concern toward Elite players playing indoor soccer because of injury.
Woodfill also asserted he told his players that as long as they could make Elite practices then he didn’t have a problem with them playing in the ACSA or Austin Women’s Soccer League (AWSL).
This is disputed by players who contend they have on record Woodfill threatening to uninvite them to practices or disregarding them from group chats based on their appearances in other Austin soccer leagues.
Speaking to The Striker via video call, many players, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke about feeling uncomfortable around Woodfill because of comments he made about race.
At a social event at his house, several players say Woodfill made a comment about the irony of a Black player being able to swim and enjoying going to the lake. The players present at the time felt very uncomfortable with the comment, and said it was an inappropriate and racist remark that played on stereotypes and discrimination to attempt humor.
When asked about this incident, Woodfill says he didn’t detect anyone feeling uncomfortable at the time, and said he is the kind of person who apologizes when he steps over the line, when it has been communicated to him. He also says that he doesn’t believe in the stereotype.
On another occasion, several players were left insulted and hurt by comments Woodfill made about Liga MX Femenil not coming to the U.S. to scout Mexican-American players.
Players claimed Woodfill briefed them about not getting their hopes up about playing in Liga MX Femenil because of their physical attributes and their heritage. He also is said to have claimed that Black and white American women would have more chances of playing in the Mexican leagues because of their physical attributes and heritage.
When asked about this incident, Woodfill countered he was retelling comments that had been made to him by another scout.
In addition to the emotional damage, many players described feeling while playing for Elite, there was also a criticism of the pathways to the professional game.
Woodfill was said to have been highly critical of the NWSL and its “politics” when it comes to recruiting, but also dismissive of his players’ chances to achieve that level of play. Players that hadn’t previously played in power five NCAA conferences were deemed to have no chance.
Players felt like they were consistently told that the league was not an avenue for them. Many say they were explicitly told they would never play at that level by Woodfill. One Elite player told The Striker that someone close to Woodfill referred to him by the nickname ‘Dream Crusher,' a revelation that the player found demoralizing.
When one player did achieve a trial with an NWSL club, without any help from Woodfill, the Elite general manager was said to be dismissive and negative towards that player.
What happens next
On Monday, July 11, UWS publicly released the results of the investigation into Woodfill that it began 10 days earlier. The investigators concluded that Elite’s owner engaged in verbal, financial, and procedural misconduct.
The league then removed Woodfill from his position as owner and general manager of Elite. The league also ended its involvement with Woodfill in any capacity.
The Striker did reach out for any further comment from a UWS spokesperson and Woodfill about the ruling but no comment was given.
Until Elite finds a new owner, it will be unable to compete in UWS. That means it is likely Elite will not be able to compete in the upcoming playoffs despite finishing top of the Southwest Division. San Antonio Athenians, who finished second in the Southwest Division, are set to replace Elite. An announcement to confirm this change is expected from the league imminently.
The Striker also understands that the former Elite players are expected to make a statement sometime in July that will address the outcome of the UWS investigation and their intentions to rejuvenate women's soccer in Austin at division two and division three levels.
Although they looked into buying the Elite from Woodfill themselves, that is not currently an option due to his asking price believed to be somewhere between $30,000 and $100,000.