Report: FC Kansas City owners traded sexually charged emails

The National Women’s Soccer League is looking into a report that owners of FC Kansas City allegedly traded emails in which players were treated as sex objects.

“The alleged conduct is counter to the very core principles that we expect of our league and teams,” a league spokesman said in an email to The Pitch on Monday. “We are currently gathering information and will not comment further until the matter has been thoroughly assessed.”

Excelle Sports, a site covering women’s sports, published a story on Friday based on three emails allegedly sent among three of FC Kansas City’s owners, Chris Likens and his sons, Brad Likens and Greg Likens, in 2013. In the alleged emails, Chris Likens comments on the “hotness” of prospective players and makes what can be construed as a sexual remark about unidentified FC Kansas City players.

The team, in turn, says the emails were fabricated by Brian Budzinksi, a co-owner of FC Kansas City and the Missouri Comets, the men’s indoor soccer team. (Budzinski is carbon-copied on the alleged emails.)

Here’s a timeline of what we know:

Wednesday, August 3: Budzinski files suit in Jackson County against Brad Likens and Greg Likens, claiming they have breached the Comets operating agreement by excluding him from the decision making.

Thursday, August 11: The Kansas City Business Journal reports on the lawsuit. Citing letters between the attorneys, the Business Journal reports that Budzinski “wanted to investigate whether Brad and Greg Likens used the Comets’ computers and servers to transmit scantily attired and suggestively posed pictures of FC Kansas City’s female players in a way that created a hostile and discriminatory work environment.” Brad Likens calls the suit “hilarious.”

Friday, August 12: Excelle Sports publishes soccer writer Stephanie Yang’s story about the emails, which, she writes, were provided by a source. Yang tweets out her story at 9:32 a.m., and the soccer world takes notice. Grant Wahl, perhaps the best-known soccer writer in the United States, shares a link to Yang’s story on Twitter:

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Late Friday afternoon, FC Kansas City issues a response, accusing Budzinski of fabricating the emails. “This is one of several different tactics Brian is using in trying to negotiate the purchase of the Missouri Comets,” the team says. Excelle Sports tweets out a link to a story updated with the team’s response at 5:09 p.m.

Budzinski declined to comment on the allegation he fabricated the emails. In an email to The Pitch on Saturday, he referred questions to his attorney, John Shank, who did not return a phone call on Monday.

FC Kansas City began play in the National Women’s Soccer League in 2013 and won the league championship in 2014.