Internal power imbalance at core of NWSL player abuse allegations

The fallout from the National Women's Soccer League's sex abuse scandal has been swift.

The accused, North Carolina Courage head coach Paul Riley, was fired. League commissioner Lisa Baird resigned. So did Washington Spirit CEO Steve Baldwin, whose team's head coach, Richie Burke, was also fired following a harassment investigation.

Multiple games over the weekend were called off as the league and its players managed the trauma stemming from allegations by former players about Riley's sexual misconduct and abuse dating back to 2011.

On the latest episode of CBC Sports' video series Bring It In, host Morgan Campbell and panellists Meghan McPeak and Shireen Ahmed discuss the imbalanced power structure that may have allowed the transgressions to proceed for a decade.

WATCH | Bring It In panel on how NWSL scandal came to be:

Players Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim recounted abuse from Riley in a story by The Athletic beginning in 2011 in the now-defunct Professional Women's Soccer League.

Ahmed said the players may have been hesitant to speak out in fear of risking their sport's popularity.