It’s Beyond Time That Arnim Whisler Is Forced To Sell The Chicago Red Stars

Arnim Whisler is still the majority owner of the Chicago Red Stars, in fact he has stepped back into the limelight as the majority owner after distancing himself from the organization over the past year and a half. Putting himself front and center in the newly announced partnership between the Red Stars and German club VFL Wolfsburg.

“There are deep similarities between our clubs and we share many philosophies,” said Arnim Whisler

However, it was just last year that Arnim Whisler apologized in a public statement for hiring Rory Dames without administering a proper background check, and while that statement was viewed in bad faith at the time… it has aged even worse than you’d expect. As a youth coach in suburban Chicago, Rory Dames was accused of grooming many of his young athletes.

In 1998, Dames was investigated by Arlington Heights Police for inappropriately touching a minor, and the players under his care also reported that Dames would often, “make sexual jokes around them”, and “spent far too much time with players outside of soccer”.

The charges against Dames were eventually not followed up on, but not because the accusations didn’t hold merit. These women had to then live their lives watching Rory Dames continue his career at the top of the Chicago soccer pyramid.

Dames would continue managing the Chicago Eclipse Select team before being offered the Chicago Red Stars job by Arnim Whisler in 2011. The Red Stars were still a D2 team at the time — playing in the WPS, WPSL, and WPSL Elite — meaning that Dames would be working in a part time capacity and splitting time with his Eclipse duties. You can maybe understand why Dames wasn’t looked into further, Whisler had already been familiar with his work during his time with the Eclipse and many Eclipse alumni would be included in those initial Red Stars rosters — it seemed like a no brainer for Whisler.

I have spoken with many players and the experiences they have told me about are unacceptable. I am further heartbroken this week after learning about the allegations from former youth players that involved the Red Stars former coach at the youth club he founded. There is no place for abuse of any kind in soccer — or anywhere. — Arnim Whisler

This should have been public information, one of the many allegations dropped by the police was regarding Dames’ alleged…