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Much will be said about Cristiano Ronaldo as he leaves the World Cup for the last time.Some will talk of his records and his longevity, the first man to score in six consecutive World Cups. Others will lament his World Cup career ending without the ultimate prize, never having gotten further than the quarterfinals after Portugal’s loss to Spain on Monday, July 6, in the round of 16. Still others will recount Ronaldo’s many accolades, including the five Ballon d’Ors that are second only to Lionel Messi’s eight.Truth be told, there will be those who won’t be sorry to see him go, too, having long ago tired of his arrogance and histrionics.Ronaldo has faced sexual assault allegationsThere’s another, darker part of Ronaldo’s legacy that deserves discussion, too, but is almost certain to be glossed over. During his illustrious career, Ronaldo was accused of sexual assault on at least two separate occasions, in England in 2005 and in Las Vegas in 2009.He was never charged and has always publicly denied any wrongdoing. But according to German magazine Der Spiegel in 2018, citing documents they reviewed, Ronaldo acknowledged to his attorneys one of the women “said no and stop several times.” He also said he’d apologized to the woman, Der Spiegel reported.Ronaldo's lawyers have disputed the veracity of Der Spiegel's reporting, saying the documents were hacked and doctored. But Der Spiegel said no evidence of that was ever provided.Ronaldo paid that same woman, Kathryn Mayorga, $375,000 in 2010, a year after she reported the alleged assault to Las Vegas police without naming the player. Mayorga later tried, unsuccessfully, to sue Ronaldo for breaching the confidentiality agreement, but the lawsuit was thrown out because of misconduct by her lawyer."I've had like these serious breakdowns,” Mayorga told Der Spiegel in 2018. “And again, blaming of the rape. And I blame him, and I blame myself for signing that thing."And Ronaldo? He’s gone on living his best life. He has been the highest-paid athlete in the world for four years in a row, according to Forbes, making an estimated $300 million in the last year alone."You don’t want to see me here any more?" Ronaldo said, joking with media ahead of the Spain game. "The day will come, the day will come! But, look, I’m going to be honest with you, no matter what happens tomorrow, Cristiano will leave here with the conscience clear — but not 100 percent, 1,000 percent."You know why? In life, in soccer, I’ve given everything I have."There are women who will have a less charitable view of what he’s done.Ronaldo not only oneRonaldo is hardly the first athlete to be accused of brutalizing a woman. During this World Cup alone, Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi was ordered by a French appeals court to stand trial on rape charges and Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey missed the Black Stars’ game in Toronto after he was denied entry into Canada because he is facing rape and sexual assault charges.Also, Cape Verde captain Ryan Mendes is under investigation in New Zealand for sexual assault. Japan’s Kaishu Sano was arrested for sexual assault in 2024, but the charges were dropped after he reached an out-of-court settlement with the woman.None of those players are in Ronaldo’s stratosphere, however. Ronaldo is one of the most recognizable athletes on the planet, and there are some who will argue he’s one of the greatest to ever play the game.Not making it to a World Cup final and scoring all of one goal in 10 knockout-round games should be the definitive answers to that argument. But I digress.Ignoring assault cases perpetuates harmWhen a player as famous as Ronaldo or Kobe Bryant or Ben Roethlisberger harms a woman and the world simply moves on, it does real damage. It perpetuates the idea that women don’t matter. That they are disposable when compared with the careers and comforts of famous men.It muffles their voices, too, reminding them there is nothing to gain and everything to lose by reporting. Her name and reputation will be forever shattered while whatever embarrassment or judgment he experiences, if any, will be short-lived.There will no doubt be many who will be sorry to see Ronaldo, 41, exit the World Cup stage. For those of us wishing that men would face even the slightest bit of accountability for their misdeeds, the reaction is different.Good riddance.Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
