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Steve Malik
Portrait photograph of Steve Malik.
Malik at a presentation in 2016.
Born
Stephen Malik

Swansea, Wales
NationalityWales, United States of America
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, sports team owner
Known forNorth Carolina Courage
North Carolina FC
Downtown South

Stephen Malik is a Welsh-American businessman and sports owner who owns and is chairman of North Carolina FC of United Soccer League and North Carolina Courage of National Women's Soccer League. He also founded and was executive chairman of medical technology company Medfusion, and was a member of the United States Soccer Federation board of directors from March 2017 to March 2019 and February 2020 to February 2021.[1][2][3][4]

Early life

[edit]

Malik was born in Swansea, Wales. His family moved to Kinston, North Carolina, when Malik was four years old to follow his father's work as a chemical engineer for DuPont. As a child he became a fan of baseball and the Baltimore Orioles, but lost interest during Major League Baseball's steroid era.[2]

In 1978, Malik attended Kinston High School and started its soccer team with his friends.[2]

Malik attended and graduated from UNC Kenan–Flagler Business School in 1985 with a business administration degree.[2]

In 1995, Malik moved to North Carolina's Research Triangle with his family. He took an interest in soccer and began coaching his children's teams in the Capital Area Soccer League (CASL). After taking ownership of North Carolina FC, he facilitated the merger of CASL and Triangle Futbol Club Alliance into North Carolina FC Youth.[2]

Entrepreneurship

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Malik founded medical technology company Medfusion in Cary, North Carolina in 1996.[2] In 2010, he sold the company to Intuit for $91 million,[5] which renamed the company Intuit Health.[6]

Malik re-acquired the company from Intuit in 2013 and became its executive chairman.[2][6] He then sold the company again in December 2019 to Irvine, California-based NextGen Healthcare, and funded a spinoff company named Greenlight Health Data Solutions.[5][7] Malik sold the company to help continue work on the Downtown South development project.[8]

Sports ownership

[edit]

North Carolina FC

[edit]
Steve Malik presents the North Carolina FC rebranding in 2016.

In the summer of 2015, Traffic Sports USA president and North American Soccer League (NASL) chairman Aaron Davidson was indicted on money laundering and wire fraud charges as part of the 2015 FIFA corruption case. Traffic Sports owned the NASL team Carolina RailHawks and subsequently listed it for sale.[2]

On October 30, 2015, Malik purchased the RailHawks from Traffic Sports.[2][9]

On November 16, 2017, North Carolina FC formally left the NASL for the United Soccer League (USL). As the RailHawks, the club had been one of the first six teams to break away from USL-1 in November 2009, and upon its exit was the last of those six to leave the NASL. The exit had been first publicized during a preliminary injunction hearing on October 31, 2017, for the NASL in its suit against the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) denying the league sanctioning as a second-division league. Malik also served at the time on the USSF board of directors.[10][11] The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York later denied the injunction request.[12]

North Carolina Courage

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On January 10, 2017, Malik announced the purchase of reigning National Women's Soccer League champions Western New York Flash, based in Rochester, New York, and his intent to relocate the team to Cary and rename it the North Carolina Courage.[2][13]

Under Malik's ownership, the Courage went on an unprecedented run of titles, winning three consecutive NWSL Shields,[14] two consecutive NWSL Championships,[15] and the NWSL Challenge Cup[16] and Women's International Champions Cup[17] once each.

On May 17, 2021, the Courage announced the addition of professional tennis player Naomi Osaka, local businesspeople Ashlie and Michael Bucy, sports marketing executive Sara Toussaint and her husband R. James Toussaint, and Capitol Broadcasting Company.[18]

Role in NWSL abuse scandals

[edit]
Paul Riley as head coach of the Courage in 2017.
Main article: 2021 NWSL abuse scandal

In 2017, the Courage hired Paul Riley as its first coach. Riley had coached the Western New York Flash to a championship in the previous season.[19]

On October 3, 2022, an investigation into reported abuses in the NWSL, commissioned by the USSF and led by Sally Yates, resulted in the Yates Report. The report included several allegations of sexual misconduct and abusive behavior by Riley during his tenures with multiple clubs, particularly Portland Thorns FC, which received reports of inappropriate sexual behavior by Riley with players and publicly stated that it had Riley's contract expire that year due to the team's poor on-field performance. The report found that Malik contacted the Thorns, Flash, NWSL, and USSF for information about Riley, but could not receive a detailed report from the Thorns or learn that the team had privately decided to remove Riley due to the allegations. Malik called Thorns owner Merritt Paulson to ask about Riley's exit and learned of one of the reported incidents, but was told by Paulson that Riley had simply exercised "poor judgment", that no other abuse had been reported, and that Riley was "a good fit for the roster" at Western New York, which Malik was acquiring as part of his purchasing the Courage.[20]

In 2019, the subject of Riley's behavior again came up in a conversation between Malik and Paulson when Riley was under consideration to be hired as manager of the United States national women's soccer team. Paulson's texts to Malik contradicted Paulson's statements to the investigation that Paulson had told Malik that the Thorns had terminated Riley's employment. Malik continued corresponding with Paulson after learning from a reporter that Riley may have removed himself from the search due to an incident in Portland, to which Paulson deferred to Riley, who had told Malik that his exit was due to a disagreement over the amount of control Riley could have over the team. U.S. Soccer counsel Lydia Wahlke also noted that Malik "has the right to hire a coach that exercises poor judgment" with regard to the reported incident of sexual misconduct.[21]

The report also noted an incident in July 2021 where Riley allegedly inappropriately directed players to lose weight and text Riley their weight daily for months. The incident was reported to the league, which notified Malik in September and advised him to tell Riley to leave such discussions to nutritionists and phrase such comments more conscientiously.[22] A report published in December 2022 by an investigation jointly commissioned by the league and National Women's Soccer League Players Association noted that Malik did not follow up with players after being notified about the alleged misconduct because he assumed the league would respond to the complaint.[23]

In September 2021, the league received four complaints of serious misconduct by Riley, and on September 7, 2021, Malik texted NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird that Riley had resigned over the league's proposed postseason schedule, which Malik refused to accept. Baird notified Malik the following day that she had urged Riley not to resign. The Courage fired Riley nonetheless on September 30, 2021, following the release of a report in The Athletic detailing Riley's history of alleged sexual misconduct with players.[24] On October 6, 2021, Malik published an open letter to claim that the Courage were aware of the Thorns' investigation into Riley's alleged misconduct in 2015, but was "subsequently assured he was in good standing".[25][26]

Jaelene Daniels signings

[edit]
Jaelene Daniels playing for the North Carolina Courage in 2017.

The Flash roster acquired by the Courage included Jaelene Daniels, then Jaelene Hinkle, a defender the Flash drafted in 2015. In June 2017, Daniels was called into camp for the United States national team to play in international friendlies against Sweden and Norway but did not attend, citing "personal reasons."[27] In a May 2018 interview with The 700 Club, which included segments filmed at Courage practices and its home stadium, Daniels revealed that she withdrew from the team for the June 2017 friendlies because she did not want to wear USSF jerseys with rainbow-colored numbers honoring LGBT pride month, saying "I just felt so convicted in my spirit that it wasn't my job to wear this jersey."[28][29][30]

Malik defended Daniels's decision on Twitter, stating that "faith acted on in personal conviction harming no one else deserves respect just as much as creating a welcoming environment for all."[31]

Daniels retired with the Courage in 2020, but returned and was re-signed by the Courage on December 19, 2021. Malik initially defended the signing in a statement citing Daniels' "positive impact ... on the Courage's successful history".[32][33] After a negative response from fans, the club posted an unsigned open letter apologizing for the signing but retained her for the 2022 season.[34][35]

During the 2022 season, Daniels refused to wear the Courage's LGBT pride-themed jersey for a Pride Night match and was not rostered for the match.[36]

Former players, including Sam Mewis, Lynn Williams,[37][38] and Merritt Mathias while she was still with the Courage, later questioned or openly criticized the club in retrospect about the club's decisions around Daniels. Mathias also noted that the club did not hold a pride night for three years.[39]

Following the 2022 season, the Courage declined to exercise an option to extend Daniels' contract, making her an unrestricted free agent.[40]

Major League Soccer bid

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See also: Downtown South

In 2016, Major League Soccer (MLS) announced plans to add four expansion teams. Malik initiated a bid in December 2016 to bring a MLS team to Raleigh, announced in July 2017 to include a 22,000-seat, $150 million stadium and $2 billion property development project called Downtown South.[41][42] MLS did not consider Malik's bid in 2017.[43]

When Charlotte FC, also in North Carolina submitted its bid for a MLS team in 2019, Malik stated doubts about the franchise's prospects and said it did not preclude his bid for a team in Raleigh.[44] MLS again declined Malik's bid and approved the Charlotte bid in December 2019.[45][46]

U.S. Soccer administration

[edit]

Malik was elected to a two-year term on the USSF board of directors as part of the Pro Council in March 2017. He ran for re-election but lost to USL CEO Alec Papadakis in March 2019.[47][48]

Malik returned to the USSF board's Pro Council in February 2020.[49][citation needed] In June 2020, Malik lobbied the USSF board to remove a rule prohibiting peaceful protest during the national anthem played or performed before every match.[50][51] Malik was replaced on the council by Lisa Baird in 2021 upon her hiring by the league as its new commissioner.[4][52]

On November 27, 2017, NASL asked USSF to remove Malik from the board of directors due to a conflict of interest created when Malik moved North Carolina FC from NASL to USL and pursued a MLS expansion bid.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Steve Malik". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Tucker, Hank (August 10, 2017). "He helped start a high school team in Kinston in 1978. Now, Steve Malik is going after Major League Soccer". The News & Observer. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Carlisle, Jeff (November 27, 2017). "NASL wants Steve Malik removed from USSF board of directors". ESPN. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Carlisle, Jeff (February 26, 2021). "NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird named to U.S. Soccer's board of directors". ESPN. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Steve Malik sells Cary firm Medfusion to California firm for $43M". WRAL Tech Wire. November 13, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Healthcare IT Entrepreneur to Focus on Organic Growth and Continued Innovation in Patient-to-Provider Engagement" (Press release). NextGen Healthcare. August 21, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  7. ^ "NextGen Healthcare Completes Acquisition of Medfusion". Businesswire (Press release). NextGen Healthcare. December 9, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  8. ^ Smith, Rick (November 13, 2019). "Steve Malik: Selling Cary firm gives more 'flexibility and leverage' for $2B Downtown South project". WRAL Tech Wire. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  9. ^ "LOCAL TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEUR PURCHASES CAROLINA RAILHAWKS" (Press release). North American Soccer League. October 30, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  10. ^ "North Carolina FC announces exit from NASL; club to join USL". Associated Press. November 16, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  11. ^ Morris, Neil (November 9, 2017). "NASL thinks American soccer is corrupt, and it's battling U.S. Soccer for survival in court". SBNation. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  12. ^ Showell, Alex (November 4, 2017). "NASL's request for injunction against U.S Soccer denied". Stars and Stripes FC. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  13. ^ "NASL North Carolina FC Owner Buys NWSL Western New York Flash, Will Move Team". Sports Business Journal. January 10, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  14. ^ "NC Courage clinch third straight NWSL Shield after win over Utah". WRAL Sports Fan. September 21, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  15. ^ "North Carolina Courage Win N.W.S.L. Title". The New York Times. Associated Press. October 27, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  16. ^ Herrera, Sandra (May 7, 2022). "NWSL Challenge Cup: North Carolina Courage defeat Washington Spirit, lift trophy in injury-filled final". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  17. ^ "Carolina Courage win inaugural Women's International Champions Cup". The News & Observer. July 30, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  18. ^ "Tennis champion Osaka invests in NWSL side North Carolina Courage". Reuters. January 28, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  19. ^ Armour, Nancy (October 4, 2022). "USA Curling 'reviewing' report detailing current CEO's involvement in systemic abuse in NWSL". USA Today. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  20. ^ Yates, Sally Q. (October 3, 2022). 4.5.3 Riley's hiring at North Carolina Courage: "Riley was a good fit" (PDF). Report of the Independent Investigation to the U.S. Soccer Federation Concerning Allegations of Abusive Behavior and Sexual Misconduct in Women’s Professional Soccer (Report). King & Spalding. pp. 73–76. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  21. ^ Yates, Sally Q. (October 3, 2022). 4.6.3.4 Communication with and among clubs (PDF). Report of the Independent Investigation to the U.S. Soccer Federation Concerning Allegations of Abusive Behavior and Sexual Misconduct in Women’s Professional Soccer (Report). King & Spalding. pp. 80–83. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  22. ^ Yates, Sally Q. (October 3, 2022). 4.7.4 July 2021: Anonymous complaint re: Courage (PDF). Report of the Independent Investigation to the U.S. Soccer Federation Concerning Allegations of Abusive Behavior and Sexual Misconduct in Women’s Professional Soccer (Report). King & Spalding. p. 87. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  23. ^ 1. Insufficient Understanding of the Respective Roles of U.S. Soccer, the League, and Clubs in Investigating Misconduct (PDF). Report of the NWSL and NWSLPA Joint Investigative Team (Report). Covington & Weil. December 14, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  24. ^ "North Carolina Courage fire coach Paul Riley amid 'serious allegations of misconduct'". ESPN. September 30, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  25. ^ "The N.W.S.L. and Players' Union Report on Women's Soccer". The New York Times. December 14, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  26. ^ Peterson, Anne M. (October 6, 2021). "NC Courage owner: Team believed Riley to be in 'good standing'". WBTV. Associated Press. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  27. ^ Dan Lauletta [@TheDanLauletta] (June 6, 2017). "OFFICIAL: Jaelene Hinkle not with #USWNT in Europe due to personal reasons. Roster is at 19" (Tweet). Retrieved June 6, 2017 – via Twitter.
  28. ^ "Citing her faith, Jaelene Hinkle admits she withdrew from US Soccer team over LGBTQ pride jerseys". The Oregonian. May 31, 2018. Archived from the original on May 31, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  29. ^ "Jaelene Hinkle: Defender refused to play for US because of LGBT shirt". BBC Sport. June 1, 2018. Archived from the original on June 1, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  30. ^ Steve Malik [@stephenmalik] (May 31, 2018). "Soccer welcomes everyone. Our actions clearly speak for that support. Pride and Faith Nights are not incompatible. Faith acted on in personal conviction harming no one else deserves respect just as much as creating a welcoming environment for all. @TheNCCourage @NorthCarolinaFC" (Tweet). Retrieved April 29, 2023 – via Twitter.
  31. ^ Yang, Stephanie (June 2, 2018). "NC Courage supporters react to Jaelene Hinkle's 700 Club interview". Dirty South Soccer. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  32. ^ Hruby, Emma (December 20, 2021). "Jaelene Daniels comes out of retirement to sign with Courage". Just Women's Sports. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  33. ^ "Jaelene Daniels Returns to NC Courage" (Press release). USL Digital. December 19, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2023. The possibility of a player returning with such impact, both on and off the field, sparked a lot of discussion internally, and with a cross section of fans. As a result of those discussions, we made the decision to welcome Jae back based on her positive impact she had on the Courage's successful history. We look forward to seeing Jaelene on the field and welcoming her and her family back into our club.
  34. ^ Murray, Caitlin (December 23, 2021). "NWSL's Courage sorry over re-signing Jaelene Daniels, who refused to wear USWNT gay pride jersey". Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  35. ^ "NC COURAGE STATEMENT FOLLOWING RECENT SIGNING" (Press release). North Carolina Courage. December 22, 2021. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  36. ^ Murphy, Brian (July 29, 2022). "NC Courage defender won't play for team in Pride Night jersey". WRAL Sports Fan. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  37. ^ Reimer, Alex (May 12, 2021). "USWNT stars Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams acknowledge previous shortcomings when it comes to LGBTQ support". Outsports. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  38. ^ Grant Wahl (May 10, 2021). "USWNT's Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams of the Snacks Podcast". Fútbol with Grant Wahl (Podcast). Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  39. ^ Vertelney, Seth (May 23, 2022). "Merritt Mathias on NC Courage: I've struggled with some of the choices this club has made". Pro Soccer Wire. USA Today. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  40. ^ Yanchulis, Kate (October 17, 2022). "Courage waive Jaelene Daniels after controversial return to NWSL". Just Women's Sports. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  41. ^ "State government site, no taxpayer money make up Raleigh's MLS stadium plan". WRAL Sports Fan. June 19, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  42. ^ Carp, Sam (June 19, 2019). "Report: North Carolina FC up MLS bid with US$1.9bn stadium site plans". SportsPro. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  43. ^ "Raleigh, Charlotte no longer in the running for a MLS team this time around". Spectrum Local News. November 29, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  44. ^ Wilson, Jen (July 16, 2019). "MLS at Charlotte stadium? Not so fast, says backer of Raleigh's bid". Charlotte Business Journal. WSOC-TV. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  45. ^ "Major League Soccer awards expansion team to Charlotte" (Press release). Major League Soccer. December 17, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  46. ^ "Raleigh's bid for MLS soccer fails as Charlotte NC swoops in". The News & Observer. December 12, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  47. ^ "MIKE CULLINA, ALEC PAPADAKIS ELECTED TO U.S. SOCCER BOARD OF DIRECTORS" (Press release). United States Soccer Federation. March 28, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  48. ^ Vaughn, Dan (April 4, 2019). "Sometimes It's Just Smoke". Protagonist Soccer. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  49. ^ Form 990 for the Year Ended March 31, 2019 (Report). United States Soccer Federation. January 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2023. STEVE MALIK PRO COUNCIL REP (AS OF 02/20)
  50. ^ Armstrong, Mark (June 11, 2020). "NCFC, Courage owner, players walking the walk for social justice". WTVD-TV. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  51. ^ Tannenwald, Jonathan (June 8, 2020). "U.S. Soccer board members moving to end ban on players kneeling during national anthem". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  52. ^ Minutes, United States Soccer Federation, Inc. Board of Directors Meeting (Report). United States Soccer Federation. February 26, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2023. Ms. Cone began by welcoming Lisa Baird as the new Board member that took Steve Malik's place.
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