- In a tell-all for The Athletic, an NYCFC intern accused soccer star David Villa of sexual harassment.
- Skyler Badillo described what she characterized as unwanted touching and inappropriate comments from Villa. She alleges that her bosses treated his behavior as a joke.
- Most involved in the events are no longer with the club, though NYCFC says it took "corrective action" with one employee who remains.
- The club's investigation supported Badillo's claims, but it denied having "an unhealthy culture" overall.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Former New York City FC intern Skyler Badillo accused international soccer icon David Villa of sexual harassment in July, prompting an internal investigation.
Badillo, who interned with the team's training staff, shared harrowing details of her experience in a tell-all with The Athletic's Pablo Maurer. Badillo accused Villa of interrogating her about her dating life, grabbing her, and repeatedly telling her that he loved her, even within earshot of her colleagues.
She said the former World Cup winner's advancements became more intense over time.
In one instance, she said, she'd mentioned weekend plans in the city.
"I was standing there and my back was to [Villa]," Badillo told The Athletic. "He got up and walked up behind me and put his hands on my hips and sort of pressed me into the counter I was standing at and whispered, into my ear, that I should 'be careful of men in the city.' And then he just left."
In its subsequent report, the NYCFC said it found evidence of "inappropriate and unacceptable" behavior, though the club also characterized some conduct as "teasing."
Badillo said Villa's repeated passes were common knowledge among club staff, but accused higher-ups of treating the behavior as a running joke. Once, Badillo added, one of Villa's own teammates even texted her to suggest she slap the star the next time he invaded her personal space.
"You're getting harassed and everyone's seeing it but not saying anything," he wrote, according to a message reviewed by The Athletic. "They can't be mad when you react."
NYCFC's statement on Badillo's allegations did not mention Villa by name
Badillo said she decided to share her story with The Athletic in part because the club did not hold Villa directly accountable for his actions.
In a statement to Insider, the club said that senior leadership at the franchise only became aware of potential wrongdoing after reading Badillo's posts on social media, which were published after Villa left NYCFC.
"The allegations made during the course of the investigation were that a small number of players and staff did not act in accordance with the Club's standards in their interactions with the intern and with other Club staff," the statement said. "This behavior included unnecessary physical contact, teasing, and comments regarding clothing and appearance."
The club also noted that "nearly all of the individuals concerned in the allegations are no longer involved with the Club," and that leaders took "corrective action with respect to the one employee that remains."
A source close to the club confirmed to Insider that Villa participated in the investigation and was cooperative throughout. Still, NYCFC refrained from directly naming the Spanish star in its statement, saying that the investigation was not just about him.
"There are definite legal reasons for that," the source, whose identity is known to Insider but spoke on the condition of anonymity, said. "But also, beyond that, the club widened this out to be a look at the whole culture and other individuals and other staff members — front office, training ground, players, academy, everywhere — and it wasn't just focused on him. I don't think the club ever wanted to present that [the investigation] was just about him."
The investigation's findings, though, did not suggest that the franchise fosters a toxic work environment, Insider's source said.
"If you're a fan reading The Athletic article, you're rightly horrified because anyone would be," they said. "But I don't want fans walking away from this thinking that it was people protecting David [Villa], that this was 10 people, that the club has an unhealthy culture, because that just absolutely wasn't the findings of the investigation."
'I don't think anything changes when people bite their tongue'
Badillo told The Athletic that in one instance, a club higher-up suggested that Villa's star power would make it difficult to hold him accountable for his poor behavior.
"He said something along the lines of 'if it was anybody else, we could maybe do something,'" Badillo said.
But the source close to NYCFC suggested that was not the club's approach overall, and Villa didn't get "any sort of protection because it was him."
"If the right people knew about it, I don't think there would have been any hesitation to take action," the person said. "It's just not that environment. The club has good morals and good processes, and that's not to demean the deeply unfortunate situation [Badillo] went through."
They added: "There were these processes in place. It didn't work."
Badillo told The Athletic that after Badillo tweeted about her experiences with the club, City Football Group — the company that owns NYCFC and several other clubs — offered her financial compensation in exchange for signing a non-disparagement agreement. But Badillo insisted she doesn't "want their money."
"Part of it is that I don't think anything changes when people bite their tongue," she said.
According to portions of internal documents provided to Insider, NYCFC has made several internal policy changes. It will now require all employees — including interns and people employed by third-party staffing agencies — to complete two sexual harassment trainings each year. Onboarding and training will also include clearer explanations of the club's workplace misconduct policies, which have been revamped to allow people to report grievances directly to HR.
In its statement, NYCFC said "the Club wishes to place on record its thanks to the former intern for her time and cooperation with the investigation and wishes her well for the future."
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