Sporting Kansas City fire Wilkinson over fan backlash

Sporting Kansas City has terminated the deal of sporting director Gavin Wilkinson just fewer than 2 weeks after hiring him after significant supporters’ backlash.

Wilkinson was implicated in multiple probes while GM and president of soccer at the Portland Timbers and Thorns over his role in protecting ex-Thorns manager Paul Riley, including withholding information about the head coach’s alleged sexual harassment and assisting him to get reappointed.

The MLS team from Kansas City shared in the past week that Gavin would take on the sporting director role, with manager Peter Vermes sharing: “Humans deserve a 2^nd chance, especially if they understand what they did wrong in the past and all those other things.”

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However, Sporting decided to fire him today, with the owner claiming it was a “mutually agreed” termination.

“In making this hard choice, we want to 1^st acknowledge the passion of our supporters, our community of fans, our partners, and our stakeholders,” Michael Illig shared.