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Why Sporting KC hired and then un-hired Gavin Wilkinson

Kansas City first announced Gavin Wilkinson as sporting director earlier this month, leading to a quick outcry from fans. Wilkinson was fired from a previous job as a women's soccer team president after multiple misconduct investigations, including his handling of sexual harassment allegations.

Barely a week after Sporting Kansas City announced the controversial hiring of Gavin Wilkinson as the team’s new sporting director, the team announced last week that it mutually parted ways with Wilkinson.

Wilkinson’s hiring announcement was met with immediate backlash from fans and, most prominently, a club-sponsored supporter group called Ladies of SKC.

Up To Date's Steve Kraske sat down with a member of the group, Carrie Davis, along with Chad Smith, associate editor at the KC Soccer Journal. They discuss what lead to Wilkinson's hiring and then swift split with Sporting KC.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Anna Schmidt and KCUR Studios, and edited by Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg.

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As a newscaster and a host of a daily news podcast, I want to deliver the most important and interesting news of the day in an engaging and easily understandable way. No matter where you live in the metro or what you’re interested in, I want you to learn something from each newscast or podcast – and maybe even give you something to talk about at the dinner table.
Anna Schmidt is the fall 2023 intern for KCUR Studios. She recently graduated from Kansas State University, where she was the Opinions Desk Editor for the Collegian student newspaper and took over the role of podcast host. You can email her at anna.schmidt@kcur.org.
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