Bay FC is preparing to debut for its second season in the National Women’s Soccer League while under investigation for having a “toxic” work environment under coach Albertin Montoya.

NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman confirmed the investigation Friday during a press conference in advance of a season-opening Challenge Cup match.

“A review is underway by an independent third party, and we’re very confident that the system we have in place will ensure that we surface the issues that need to be addressed, and that we’ll continue to work with all of our clubs, our technical staff and our players to make sure that we’re achieving our goal of creating a safe, healthy working environment,” Berman said.

Bay FC’s first season included some growing pains as it lost seven of its first nine matches and then won three of five, only to have general manager Lucy Rushton resign abruptly on June 24. Matt Potter took the job on an interim basis and remains the general manager.

According to a San Francisco Chronicle report, Montoya, hired in September 2023 as Bay FC’s first head coach, was named in two formal complaints of “bullying,” with an unnamed player saying, “We begged and pleaded for help and change, and it never came.”

Regarding one of the complaints, Bay FC senior spokesperson Lisa Goodwin Scharff said in an email that the club took the charge seriously but “did not find any evidence of misconduct.”

A team statement said Bay FC was “working closely with the league to review and take appropriate steps” based on findings of an end-of-season survey related to communication challenges, and that Bay FC’s rankings among clubs in that area went from 11 out of 14 teams to 6 out of 14 by the end of the season.

“We were founded as a player-centric club, and we will do everything we need to make sure we have a supportive environment for our players,” the team statement said.

Berman stressed that the investigation itself does not impugn Montoya or Bay FC.

“You want to facilitate an environment where people can come forward without a predetermined conclusion that it means that there’s been a violation, that there’s going to be discipline,” Berman said. “Once you have an environment where people come forward and think that’s the assumption, it actually deters people from raising proactive concerns.”

Montoya joined Bay FC after previously coaching the professional FC Gold Pride in Women’s Professional Soccer, a precursor to the NWSL, in 2009-10 before the league folded. He was a major figure in Bay Area amateur club soccer at Mountain View Los Altos (MVLA) before being named the Washington Spirit’s interim manager late in the 2022 season, and then taking on the Bay job.

Team captain and center back Emily Menges spoke to reporters after a training session Friday and said the mood around the team remained positive, as did Montoya’s, though she admitted the timing of the news is “frustrating” a week before the regular season.

“There’s a review now in place and we just have to wait to see what happens,” Menges said. “The players trust the process that has been put in place, and so I think there’s nothing else that we can do besides go out and play and have a good time and continue building our culture.”

News of the Bay FC investigation comes a month after the league established a $5 million fund for players as part of a settlement regarding allegations of emotional and sexual misconduct made in 2021.

Five coaches, including North Carolina’s Paul Riley, were either fired or resigned that year amid claims of misconduct.

As a result, the NWSL implemented changes to protect players, including enhanced vetting of club employees and an anonymous tipline for players. The NWSL Players Association also negotiated safeguards in the collective bargaining agreement with the league.

Those instances predated Bay FC’s 2024 entry into the NWSL, which has been in existence since 2013. However, last week Bay FC accepted the resignation of scouting director Graeme Abel, who was accused in 2024 by former players at the University of Oregon of verbal abuse, then was hired by Bay in February.

Center back Abby Dahlkemper, who played youth soccer under Montoya in the Bay Area, called him “a players’ coach” in speaking to reporters alongside Menges.

“We’ve been having a really good preseason and the vibes are good,” Dahlkemper said.

In its first year of competition, Bay FC finished 11-1-14 with 34 points in the standings to secure the seventh of eight playoff spots. A trade for Dahlkemper, a World Cup winner with the U.S. women’s national team, helped solidify the defense for the playoff push.

Bay FC was eliminated in its playoff opener 2-1 on the road against the Washington Spirit, which eventually lost the title game 1-0 to the Orlando Spirit.

Bay FC opens its season on March 15 at Utah Royals FC, with the home opener slated for March 22 against Racing Louisville FC at PayPal Park.

The club is expecting 20 of the 30 players who were on the roster at some point in 2024 returning to be on this year’s opening day roster. Former No. 2 overall pick Savy King was traded to Angel City last month after requesting a deal and last year’s starting keeper, Katelyn Rowland announced her retirement during training camp.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.