[YOUR NAME AND TITLE HERE] STATEMENT ON [SOMETHING MESSED UP THAT USSF DID RE: THE USWNT]
When I saw the media reports of [something that the United States Soccer Federation did that I, a board member and very important person within the United States Soccer Federation assuredly already knew about], I was shocked, appalled, angry, and [some other word that basically means the same thing]. I have made these feelings clear to [the person allegedly higher up than me on the USSF food chain, who will hopefully be taking the fall for this] in no uncertain terms, and expressed that we must reverse this [course of action, which, again, I already knew about].
These actions do not reflect my personal views, nor the views that we should espouse as the leaders of soccer in the United States. On a personal level, as a father of daughters [or child of a mother/person who once saw a woman in a movie/whatever], I find these [actions which I supported when we began pursuing them, because I am on the board, and everything gets run by us] to be demeaning and despicable. I want my daughters [or daughters I could theoretically have on a separate plane of existence in the multiverse] to grow up believing they can do anything in the world, that they are every bit as talented and special as any man [a belief I would never have held if I had not had a daughter, or need for something resembling decent PR]. Those are values that everyone in [USSF, MLS, SUM, some other acronym that really rolls right off the tongue] should hold. The USWNT are world champions, and deserve nothing but our utmost respect [and only our respect, because if you think we’re going to willingly pay them more, you’re out of your goddamn mind].
I plan to immediately [a word that implies serious action, but can’t be verified] the [person who better be taking the fall] about this issue, and hope to find a swift resolution with our women’s soccer team[of whom I can name roughly seven].
An ambiguous ruling clearly aimed at Megan Rapinoe
(Stu Holden/Twitter)
Sunil Gulati’s USSF presidency of avoidance continues with the addition of a new policy that should be called the “Please Don’t Make This Difficult For Us, Megan Rapinoe” Rule.
Revealed at the U.S. Soccer Annual General Meeting and shared by attendee Stu Holden, the policy, which was passed by the USSF board of directors last month, requires everyone representing the national team to “stand respectfully” for the national anthems.
New Policy added to @ussoccer bylaws: Players "shall stand respectfully during playing of national anthem @ which federation is represented" pic.twitter.com/fkVtCI1iHC
In a follow-up tweet, Holden added that Gulati said there were no consequences for disobeying this policy agreed upon at this time and the board will put that decision off until someone violates it and forces them to.
This is clearly a reaction to Megan Rapinoe’s decision to kneel during the U.S. national anthem while representing the national team last year in support of a protest against the oppression of people of color started by NFL player Colin Kaepernick. At the time, the USSF released a statement indicating that the federation did not support Rapinoe’s protest, but since they had no official policy on the books about anthem etiquette, this was all they could do. The statement read:
“Representing your country is a privilege and honor for any player or coach that is associated with U.S. Soccer’s National Teams. Therefore, our national anthem has particular significance for U.S. Soccer. In front of national and often global audiences, the playing of our national anthem is an opportunity for our Men’s and Women’s National Team players and coaches to reflect upon the liberties and freedom we all appreciate in this country. As part of the privilege to represent your country, we have an expectation that our players and coaches will stand and honor our flag while the national anthem is played.”
During an interview with FourFourTwo in November, Gulati gave a mealy-mouthed indication that a new policy was in the works.
I think our board feels quite strongly that there is a difference between playing for your club and your country on this issue. And we’ll see how that all plays out. We have a board meeting next month. There’s a lot of misunderstanding about what the First Amendment actually says, in terms of freedom of speech. Yes, Megan or [Colin] Kaepernick or anyone else can’t get prosecuted for criminal charges for freedom of speech. That is not the case in any membership organization or any employment area or anything else. And so there is that point to start with. There is a right to freedom speech, she also has the obligations to putting on a national team uniform. And we think those are pretty strong when you’re representing the U.S. national team and wearing the crest.
By saying that punishments would only be decided as necessary, Gulati and the USSF seem to hope to avoid looking too authoritarian and leaving the policy as a desperate plea along the lines of “Come on, guys—just behave and let our sponsors use you to sell their products in peace…please?”
But the result here is damage to the respect they’re trying to preserve. By requiring people to “respectfully stand” and removing free will from the equation, the act of standing is no longer a demonstration of honor, appreciation or reverence, it’s just a hollow obligation under threat of mysterious retribution for everyone. It takes away the personal expression of both those who protest and those who don’t. And though stifling everyone’s voice in an attempt to eliminate the possibility of facing something they don’t want to deal with is within the federation’s rights, it doesn’t show much respect for America’s anthem or values.
When you don’t feel like coming up with a new design the year before a World Cup
(U.S. Soccer)
Nike and U.S. Soccer unveiled a new all red kit at midnight Eastern Time on a Tuesday Valentine’s Night. And it seems more thought went into that release than the design of the kit itself.
If you watched Euro 2016 or Ligue 1 this season, it should look familiar because it’s nearly identical to kits worn by England, Portugal and PSG.
Nike must have felt that going to the trouble of creating a new design the year before a World Cup—when shirt sales and public interest will be at their peak—simply wasn’t worth it. And if the U.S. Federation was willing to accept their boring old design, then, hey, why not?
The U.S. Federation’s website notes that red is “a core color of the United States flag” as a lame justification for the unoriginal look.
They had to know that this decision would be criticized, though. There were already grumblings when it leaked last week. So the release has been buried in the dead of night…on a holiday…during the middle of the week.
The women’s team will be the first to wear it at the SheBelieves Cup in early March and the men’s team will wear it for their World Cup qualifiers starting at the end of March.
The USSF president is failing to deal with more troubling matters than whether Klinsmann stays on as manager
Gulati attempts to hide
It’s easy to point fingers at Jurgen Klinsmann right now. The U.S. have lost two consecutive matches of significance and he seems to be doing everything wrong. This is a problem. But the U.S. federation has a bigger problem. Namely, USSF president Sunil Gulati.
If U.S. Soccer was a horror movie, Gulati would be the character that hides under the bed, hoping the undead axe murderer gets bored, goes home and starts a new life as a tax attorney. His method of leadership is to provide no leadership at all. And it’s causing a growing number of embarrassments on both the men’s and women’s sides of the game.
The Klinsmann situation is a comparatively minor concern in the grand scheme of issues facing the USSF. World Cup qualification is still a strong possibility and though he isn’t getting results at the moment, Klinsmann has brought a number of promising young talents into the mix that beget optimism for the future, whether Klinsmann himself is part of it or not.
Still, the losses to Mexico and Costa Rica and the avalanche of calls for Klinsmann to be fired that ensued demanded a show of leadership. Either sack him now, since time is of the essence in the middle of a World Cup cycle, or confidently back the manager in an effort to quiet the unrest both outside and inside the dressing room. Instead, Gulati has given the equivalent of a verbal shrug.
Sunil Gulati declined to give Klins same level of support as before MEX game. "Do facts matter? The answer is yes." 1/2
If it’s decided that Klinsmann must go now, Gulati, who isn’t up for re-election until 2018, will be on the hook for the considerable expense that decision will bring to the federation. After all, he was ultimately responsible for offering Klinsmann a four-year contract extension shortly before the 2014 World Cup that also gave him the broader role of technical director.
Meanwhile, the issues on the women’s side go far beyond wins and losses, though they too are coming off a shocking quarterfinal loss to Sweden at the Rio Olympics. The women’s team has been actively fighting for equal pay for months and several members of the team filed a lawsuit against the federation back in March. When asked about this by Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl, Gulati proved that he is more comfortable in his role as an economics professor at Columbia University than as the leader of a non-profit organization.
“I don’t want to use the word deserve in any of this,” Gulati said. “I’d reverse the question: Do you think revenue should matter at all in determination of compensation in a market economy? If we look at the track record of teams, a lot of different things go into the compensation for the players … Part of it is based on revenue, part of it is based on revenues that accrue from international competitions, part of it is based on incentives and the performance of the teams. All of that goes into it. We think very highly of the women’s national team, we want to compensate them fairly and we’ll sit down and work through that with them.”
Gulati added that revenue generation is “absolutely part of the equation,” but doesn’t seem to entertain the possibility that maybe it shouldn’t be. Again, the USSF isn’t a publicly traded corporation. It’s a non-profit organization (then, so is FIFA) with the stated mission of making “soccer, in all its forms, a preeminent sport in the United States and to continue the development of soccer at all recreational and competitive levels.” And equal pay seems like both a just and logical way of working towards that mission.
Instead, this battle has been allowed to fester. And when the USSF terminated Hope Solo’s contract after she called Sweden’s team “cowards,” it seemed a lot more likely that she was being cast off for being one of the team’s leaders in the equal pay movement than for being a sore loser.
This brings us to Gulati’s recent comments on Megan Rapinoe kneeling during the national anthem while on international duty.
Depending on how you read that quote, it’s either an indirect threat to Rapinoe and anyone else who doesn’t toe the line or it’s a mealy mouthed attempt to placate those offended by her actions. Or maybe it’s both. Whatever the case, it’s another example of Gulati hiding under the bed. He’s not punishing her and he’s not backing her. He’s hoping his word smoothie will be enough to get everyone to argue amongst themselves and leave him alone.
A clearer example of this desire was when a Senate subcommittee called USSF representatives to be questioned about the FBI’s crackdown on FIFA and the U.S.’s own confederation—CONCACAF—based largely on the crimes perpetrated and exposed by turncoat American FIFA executive Chuck Blazer. Gulati declined to attend and has remained steadfast in attempts to quietly distance himself from the corruption that has gone on all around him.
The problems of Gulati’s reign are not limited to the highest levels of the sport, though. They also extended down to the youth ranks, corroding the very foundation upon which U.S. Soccer is built.
Obviously Gulati can’t be expected to fix all that ails U.S. Soccer by himself, but being a leader who leads, rather than someone who enjoys all the perks of his title while shirking its toughest responsibilities and facing no opposition to his crown would be a good start. And if he’s not willing to do that, it’s time to find someone who is. Hey—maybe Jurgen Klinsmann would be a better federation president than national team coach.
