Oct 15, 2026 · 58 min
Investigative reporting exposes youth sports’ accountability gaps
Taking Stories Home with Molly Hensley-Clancy
The episode examines how weak oversight, opaque discipline and institutional silence can leave athletes vulnerable to abuse across women’s soccer and youth sports.
- 1Molly Hensley-Clancy’s reporting traces how institutions can fail to act when abuse allegations and warning signs surface.
- 2SafeSport’s limited resources and fragmented authority leave meaningful gaps between reporting misconduct and preventing its recurrence.
- 3Confidential arbitration and coach mobility can obscure accountability, making stronger oversight and better tip lines essential.
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Molly Hensley-Clancy explains how coaches can move between youth-sports organizations when discipline is weak and oversight systems fail to connect.
The brief
ProPublica reporter Molly Hensley-Clancy joins Sarah Spain to discuss investigations into abuse and institutional failure across women’s soccer, the AAU and youth sports.
The conversation examines SafeSport’s handling of allegations involving former coach Rory Dames, and how limited resources and a difficult mandate constrain accountability.
Hensley-Clancy describes her yearlong investigation into the AAU, where weak discipline, unclear standards and failures to check SafeSport lists allowed coaches to move between organizations.
Confidential arbitration and legal limits on forced arbitration can narrow victims’ remedies, while the episode also revisits an ongoing federal investigation involving a Texas volleyball coach.
The reporting carries a personal cost: Hensley-Clancy explains how recreational soccer helps her decompress after taking abuse stories home.
The episode closes with a broader appeal for accountability and new reporting leads, alongside updates on the WNBA Finals and a women’s hockey comedy sketch.