Carolina RailHawks president and general manager Curt Johnson said Friday that, assumptions notwithstanding, it remains “business as usual” for the Cary-based soccer club.

Speaking with WRALSportsFan, Johnson commented publicly for the first time since Wednesday’s news that Aaron Davidson, ex-chairperson of the North American Soccer League (NASL) and former president of Traffic Sports USA, Inc., the majority stakeholder in the RailHawks, was among 14 FIFA officials and sports marketing executives indicted in an ongoing U.S. corruption probe linked to FIFA that involves bribes totaling more than $100 million.

Davidson was arraigned in a New York court Friday and pled not guilty through his attorney to bribery-related charges.

Johnson has worked for Traffic Sports USA as the RailHawks’ president and general manager since being hired for the post in early 2011, when Traffic Sports acquired the RailHawks’ brand and reformed the club.

Johnson said he was as shocked as everyone else to hear about the federal indictments Wednesday morning, particularly those against Davidson, and the guilty pleas entered in federal court on May 14 by Traffic Sports USA, Inc. and its parent Brazilian corporation, Traffic Sports International Inc.

“At 6:14 Wednesday morning, I got a call from [NASL Commissioner] Bill Peterson that woke me up,” Johnson recalled. “And that’s how I found out the news. Bill had found out that morning, and everyone I know found out this information Wednesday morning when the rest of the world did.”

Johnson said he and the rest of the front office personnel in Cary continue to oversee the day-to-day operations of the club. The week’s events have not inhibited the club’s normal course of business, nor halted negotiations and planning surrounding possible exhibition matches and other events slated for the rest of the year.

“We’re operating as business as usual. And we’re executing our 2015 plan as we were a week ago,” said Johnson.

Johnson said during the many conversations he’s had the past two days with sponsors and others with ties to the RailHawks, the feedback has been uniformly astute and positive.

“I’ve not had one person come to me and say, ‘We just can’t support you guys anymore,’" Johnson said. “They want to understand the situation. They want to hear about the RailHawks and the lack of connection to all of this … The narrative is not what you’d want, obviously, but people are pretty clear that there is a separation of the entities.”

The RailHawks’ funding appears secure for the remainder of the 2015 season. Reliable sources told WRALSportsFan that Traffic Sports presently remains the owner and funding source for the RailHawks. Should Traffic Sports’ ownership in the RailHawks end for any reason during the 2015 season, the NASL has the ability to step in and provide temporary funding, as it is doing this year for the Atlanta Silverbacks.

According to the U.S. Soccer Federation’s Professional League Standards, updated in February 2014, every Division II Men’s Outdoor League sanctioned by USSF – which currently comprises only the NASL – must “demonstrate adequate financial viability to ensure continued operation on a season-by-season basis either in the form of a performance bond or similar instrument for each team in the amount of seven hundred fifty thousand US dollars (US $750,000), or readily-available league funds representing such amounts.”

In other words, each team owner must submit a letter of credit in the amount of $750,000 to guarantee continued operation of any club in the case of financial instability or insolvency.

Johnson is unable to identify who, if anyone, is presently representing the RailHawks interests on the NASL’s Board of Governors. Johnson is not a member of the NASL’s executive committee nor a voting member on the league’s BOG. However, he did attend the BOG meeting in Atlanta two weeks ago, where Davidson was present and presided as chairperson.

Johnson referred questions about the future of Traffic Sports’ ownership of the RailHawks and fiduciary affiliation with the NASL to the league’s office.

According to documentation provided to WRALSportsFan, Traffic Sports possesses a pro rata membership interest in North American Soccer League, LLC as one of the league’s owners. Moreover, Traffic Sports is a majority shareholder in NASL Team Holdings, LLC, a group comprising the league’s founding owners that retains final say over the league’s annual budget. According to the documentation, interest in NASL Team Holdings, LLC is redeemable at the option of the company in the event a member ceases to be a member of NASL, LLC.

Regardless of the future of Traffic Sports’ involvement with the NASL, Johnson said the RailHawks’ aims for professional soccer in the Triangle remain undaunted.

“We have been actively pursuing ownership for the RailHawks that has a long-term vision for professional soccer in North Carolina and the Triangle,” Johnson said. “There have been plenty of people who have expressed interest in the RailHawks and professional soccer. It’s about finding the right fit for the long-term vision and investment ability to bring the RailHawks to a world-class level.”