Gavin Wilkinson

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Gavin Wilkinson
Gavin-Wilkinson.jpg
Personal information
Full name Gavin Brian Wilkinson
Date of birth (1973-11-05) 5 November 1973 (age 50)
Place of birth Auckland, New Zealand
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1992–1996 Waitakere City
1996–1999 Perth Glory 68 (4)
1999–2000 Instant-Dict 13 (2)
2000 Geylang United 15 (2)
2000–2001 Kilkenny City 12 (0)
2001–2006 Portland Timbers 124 (4)
International career‡
1996–2002 New Zealand 33 (1)
Managerial career
2005–2006 Portland Timbers (USL) (assistant)
2007–2010 Portland Timbers (USL)
2012 Portland Timbers (interim)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:47, 29 January 2013 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 October 2007
Wilkinson (centre) with Timbers owner Merritt Paulson (left) and player Nat Borchers in 2016 Merritt Paulson Portland Timbers vs Colorado Rapids 2016-10-16.jpg
Wilkinson (centre) with Timbers owner Merritt Paulson (left) and player Nat Borchers in 2016

Gavin Wilkinson (born 5 November 1973) is a former New Zealand footballer who served as general manager and President of Soccer for the Portland Timbers from 2009 to 2022.

Contents

Prior to this position, Wilkinson was manager of Portland Timbers in the United Soccer League before their promotion to Major League Soccer beginning with the 2011 season. As a player, he was known as a strong leader and defender. [1]

Wilkinson was a prominent figure mentioned in the Yates Report, detailing his involvement with workplace sexual misconduct while as a part of the front-office staff of the Portland Thorns. He was hired by Sporting Kansas City in January 2024 to serve as the franchise's sporting director, and released by SKC on 19 January 2024.

Playing career

Club career

Wilkinson played defence for with the USL Portland Timbers from 2001 to 2006, adding assistant coach duties in 2005 and 2006. Wilkinson retired as an active player and was named Head Coach and General Manager for Portland Timbers in September 2006. During the 2009 season, he directed the Timbers to the Commissioner's Cup as the regular season champion and a league record 24 game unbeaten string (14-0-10), smashing the previous record of 16.

International career

Wilkinson played for the New Zealand national football team, the All Whites and collected 33 caps in official FIFA internationals, scoring 1 goal. [2]

Post-playing career

Wilkinson also runs EastSide Timbers FC, a youth soccer club based in Gresham, OR. [3]

On 18 January 2010, Wilkinson was named Technical Director of the expansion Portland Timbers club in Major League Soccer (MLS), set to begin play in the 2011 season. He assumed those duties while still coaching the Timbers through the 2010 season.

Portland Thorns and Portland Timbers

Wilkinson was the general manager of the Portland Thorns, the Timbers' sister club in the National Women's Soccer League from its inception in 2013. As a result of the 2021 fallout of the scandal surrounding allegations that Paul Riley had sexually harassed Thorns players during his tenure as the club's coach (2014 to 2015), Wilkinson, who was responsible for Riley's hire and the eventual non-retainment of Riley's services following the 2015 season, was put on administrative leave from the Thorns [4] and eventually replaced by Karina Leblanc. [5] An independent investigation into abuse in the NWSL commissioned by the US Soccer Federation and led by Sally Yates detailed how Wilkinson encouraged other clubs to hire Riley after his departure from the Thorns. According to the report, Wilkinson "told the Flash that Riley was 'put in a bad position by the player,' and that Wilkinson would 'hire [Riley] in a heartbeat.'" [6] Wilkinson also acted to hide the abuse from the media by telling reporters that Riley was let go because the team failed to make the playoffs. [6] Medical staff of the club also reported that Wilkinson was made aware that Riley had interfered with their treatment and was endangering players. [6]

Wilkinson and the Portland Timbers front office faced further accusations of misconduct in the face of abuse reports in February 2022, when Major League Soccer suspended Timbers player Andy Polo pending an investigation into allegations of domestic violence made by Polo's ex-partner. [7] Police reports later indicated that Timbers employees were present when police arrived to investigate the initial call in May 2021, months before The Athletic's report on Paul Riley was published, but the team failed to report the incident to the league for nine months. Polo's ex-partner detailed the event on Peruvian television, and claimed she had been pressured into not filing charges against Polo. An MLS investigation in March 2022 claimed the Timbers did not pressure Polo's ex-partner nor intentionally conceal the incident or their involvement. Wilkinson claimed Diego Valeri opposed the decision to cut Polo, which Valeri denied as he was no longer with the Timbers at the time of Polo's release from the team. [8]

After an October 2022 report commissioned by the U.S. Soccer Federation was revealed, Timbers and Thorns owner Merritt Paulson announced Wilkinson, team president Mike Golub, and Paulson himself would thereafter recuse themselves from all Thorns decisions. Their respective futures with regard to the Timbers were not included in the statement. Earlier that day, the Timbers Army and Rose City Riveters formally demanded the removal of Wilkinson and Golub and for Paulson to sell the teams.

On 5 October, Wilkinson and Golub were fired from the club. [9] A report in The Athletic stated that Wilkinson was set to receive a contract extension, with a clause which allowed the club to terminate for cause. [10]

Sporting Kansas City

Wilkinson was hired by Sporting Kansas City in January 2024 to serve as the club's sporting director. [11]

On 19 January 2024, Wilkinson and Sporting Kansas City "mutually agreed" to release Wilkinson from his role with SKC. [12]

Honours

Player

Perth Glory

Manager

Portland Timbers

Cascadia Cup (1x): 2012

USL-1 Coach of the Year (2x): 2007, 2009

Managerial stats

TeamNatFromToRecord
GWLDWin %
Portland Timbers Flag of the United States.svg  United States 26 September 200610 October 201011850293942.37
Awards
Preceded by
Inaugural
 Perth Glory Most Glorious Player Award
1996–97		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Mike Anhaeuser
 USL-1 Coach of the Year
2007		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Colin Clarke
 USL-1 Coach of the Year
2009		Succeeded by

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References

  1. ↑ "A-International Scorers - Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  2. ↑ "A-International Appearances - Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  3. ↑ "EastSide United FC - Technical Director". ESUFC. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  4. ↑ "Thorns FC statement on general manager/President of soccer Gavin Wilkinson | PTFC".
  5. ↑ "Karina LeBlanc named Thorns FC general manager".
  6. 1 2 3 "Read the Report on Abuse in Women's Soccer". The New York Times. 3 October 2022. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  7. ↑ Freeman, Joe (9 February 2020). "Portland Timbers' Andy Polo accused of domestic violence, suspended by MLS". The Oregonian/Oregon Live. Advance Publications. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  8. ↑ Rueter, Jeff (1 August 2022). "Contextualizing the Timbers' Andy Polo saga, as questions remain among fans". The Athletic . Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  9. ↑ Timbers, Portland. "President of soccer Gavin Wilkinson and president of business Mike Golub relieved of their duties | PTFC". Portland Timbers.
  10. ↑ Linehan, Sam Stejskal, Paul Tenorio, Meg. "Timbers, Thorns FC fire Gavin Wilkinson, Mike Golub". The Athletic.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ Bogert, Tom; Maurer, Pablo; Tenorio, Paul (11 January 2024). "Sporting KC hires former Portland Timbers, Thorns president Gavin Wilkinson". The Athletic. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  12. ↑ Illig, Michael. "Statement from Principal Owner Michael Illig". SportingKC.com. Sporting Kansas City . Retrieved 19 January 2024.
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