Philadelphia Union sporting director Ernst Tanner continues to be under investigation by Major League Soccer and remains on administrative leave with no resolution expected to come soon, multiple sources told the Guardian last week.
Tanner was the subject of wide-ranging allegations of misconduct raised by a Guardian investigation late last year, including a complaint made by the MLS Players Association to the league alleging multiple instances of racist, sexist and homophobic behavior. After the Guardian published its story, the Union placed Tanner on administrative leave and MLS reopened an investigation into his behavior that had been closed early in 2025 due to lack of corroboration. Tanner has denied the allegations throughout, saying he will cooperate fully with the league as he “[works] to clear my good name and reputation”.
MLS’s initial investigation was done using in-house counsel, but the league has retained labor law firm Littler Mendelson to handle the new investigation, said multiple sources with direct knowledge of it, who like all sources in this report spoke to the Guardian under the condition of anonymity. Littler Mendelson is a global law firm specializing in labor and employment law. Among other notable clients, the firm has represented Starbucks, Amazon and Delta Air Lines in their anti-unionization efforts.
However, the investigation has not reached any conclusion in the three months since it was reopened. The Guardian understands that part of the reason for the delay is that investigators had reached an impasse regarding non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that remain in effect between some potential sources and the Union.
It is somewhat common for MLS clubs to have departing employees sign NDAs, which generally prohibit them from speaking about their experiences at their previous employer. Multiple sources with knowledge of the ongoing investigation into Tanner have said that, because of these types of agreements, some potential interviewees have not received adequate assurances from investigators that they won’t be subject to legal action if they participate.
The Guardian understands that MLS had hoped a new investigation would work around any existing NDAs, with the league previously offering assurances to potential sources in its initial effort. Two sources familiar with the ongoing investigation told the Guardian last week that multiple potential sources in the investigation do not feel that they’ve received adequate assurance that they’d be released from the conditions of those agreements.
“Any individual under an NDA with the Philadelphia Union has been granted, or would be granted upon request, a release to fully participate in the investigation,” A Union spokesperson wrote in a statement to the Guardian. MLS deferred comment to Littler Mendelson.
“We have engaged – and continue to engage – with individuals subject to nondisclosure agreements, and are taking appropriate steps to facilitate their participation in this investigative process,” Littler shareholder Kris Derewicz wrote in a statement to the Guardian. “As this is an ongoing investigation, we are not at liberty to provide any additional details.”
Tanner was put on leave on 19 November and has since largely spent his time in his native Germany, sources familiar with the Union’s front office operations said last week. The Union’s front office has been active in recent weeks, adding players from Colombia and Denmark while unloading others within and outside MLS. A league source with direct knowledge of one of those transfers told the Guardian that Tanner was not involved in negotiations surrounding that player, with talks handled instead by Union owner Jay Sugarman alongside assistant sporting director Matt Ratajczak.
Since his arrival in MLS in 2018, Tanner has been widely considered among the league’s most successful sporting directors, having helped craft a series of perennially competitive Union sides on a barebones budget. Unlike other global leagues, MLS has a soft salary cap and complex system of roster rules and regulations designed to allow even the league’s smallest teams to be competitive. Tanner had proved a good match for Philadelphia, who have often been among the league’s thriftiest teams.
Prior to his arrival, the Union had qualified for the MLS playoffs only twice in their eight-year history. Under Tanner, Philadelphia have made the postseason every year except 2024 and reached the 2022 MLS Cup final, a performance that earned Tanner the league’s executive of the year award.
Sporting directors at MLS clubs have varying degrees of power; at the Union, Tanner oversees nearly every facet of the club’s sporting operations at a granular level, working closely with the club’s youth academy. That youth setup has produced multiple US national team members and has frequently provided the Union with a valuable income stream via outgoing transfers, with Philadelphia raking in about $43m in player sales under Tanner’s watch.