MLS must “Cross the Line” and talk about Trump, Zlatan and Georgia

Steve Clare is the founder of Prost Amerika.

As debate surrounds North Carolina’s legislation over what lavatories transgender people may use, most MLS fans continue to demonstrate their support for diversity and tolerance with the regular display of gay rights rainbow flags, or more recently pro refugee banners.

This tendency towards liberal views may be as a result of soccer fans being generally more international and less parochial because it is a global sport. It’s also possible that there’s a simpler explanation. MLS franchises are in cites. Cities are generally more liberal than rural America. There’s also a fairly high proportion in coastal cities which are also more international in their outlook.

With the best coastal locations generally already inside the league, MLS expansion though has begun to look inland and to areas of America such as Detroit and St Louis. Minnesota and Atlanta have already been awarded franchises.

The state of Georgia has been dealing with a “religious liberty” bill which would allow religious leaders to refuse to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies and individuals from being forced to attend such events.

The bill (House Bill 757) mirrors Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and allows faith-based organizations to deny use of their facilities for any event they find “objectionable” and exempts them from having to hire or retain any employee whose religious beliefs or practices differ from those of the organization. In short it enshrines religious discrimination as well as homophobia in employment among other fields.

To their credit, the NFL reacted clearly and unambiguously to the bill by suggesting it might omit Atlanta for consideration to host future Super Bowls.

“NFL policies emphasize tolerance and inclusiveness, and prohibit discrimination based on age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other improper standard,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement.

“Whether the laws and regulations of a state and local community are consistent with these policies would be one of many factors NFL owners may use to evaluate potential Super Bowl host sites.”

The NFL was not alone among sports organizations voicing opposition. The NCAA and the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks each issued statements, some of them more strongly worded than the NFL’s.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) vetoed the law in late March under pressure from both Hollywood which spends a considerable amount of money in Georgia and business leaders. The amount of business lost to his state was clearly a factor although he couched his rationale in other terms:

“I do not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia, which I and my family have been a part of for generations,” he said at a news conference announcing his decision.

For now, Georgia’s homophobes are at bay but Georgia House Bill 757’s supporters have vowed not to let the matter drop. Mike Griffin of Georgia Right to Life told local a news station.

“We’ll bring it back up … and hey! Let’s make it a gubernatorial issue. Those people that wanted it to go away, it’s not going away.”

If Georgia’s HB 757 is resurrected, MLS must unequivocally put that franchise on hold until the legislation is buried for good.

If a franchise can be delayed because it doesn’t have a stadium, it can surely be delayed because of a lack of basic civil rights or laws incompatible with MLS’ benchmark diversity campaign.

The NFL’s statement was clear and unambiguous but what about soccer?

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank who also owns MLS expansion franchise Atlanta United spoke up saying:

“One of my bedrock values is ‘Include Everyone’ and it’s a principle we embrace and strive to live each and every day with my family and our associates, a vast majority of which live and work in Georgia.

“I strongly believe a diverse, inclusive and welcoming Georgia is critical to our citizens and the millions of visitors coming to enjoy all that our great state has to offer. House Bill 757 undermines these principles.”

Founder of Gay4soccer Chris Billig paid tribute to Blank’s outspokeneness in an email to Prost Amerika:

“I certainly hope that Major League Soccer considers a community’s welcome of all its fans, including LGBT persons, in its decisions on expansion teams and placement of major events.

“Placing a team in a locality with laws such as North Carolina’s HB2 sends a troublesome message. Thankfully in the case of Atlanta we have an ally in team owner Arthur Blank who has stood up to his state’s laws legalizing discrimination helping to defeat them thus far. “

MLS silence seems at odds with their well advertised “Don’t Cross the Line” campaign:

Their campaign pledge says:

“We will not tolerate discrimination, bias, prejudice or harassment of any kind. Don’t Cross the Line promotes unity, respect, fair play, equality and inclusion throughout the soccer community.”

It’s a respectful and well formed phrase.

We have seen fines and bans issued to players such as Alan Gordon, Marc Burch and Colin Clark for use of homophobic epithets. It’s easy to beat up on your employees and brag that you have taken big action. but MLS now needs to show that it is serious regardless of the power of the other interest, be it a politician or one of its clubs.

However, on top of the gay rights issue, another bigotry has emerged on the US scene which directly affects soccer.

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has advocated a ban on any Muslim immigrating into the United States. That would include some pretty good players (see chart below). He also proposed deporting 11 million Mexicans who are here illegally. That’s a lot of soccer fans.

MLS has issued no view on how Donald Trump’s ban on Muslim immigration might affect their transfer policy which seems even more bizarre this week while their website whips up fans by touting the potential arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimović.

You simply cannot divorce that aspiration from the stark fact that one of the two Presidential candidates would bar him from coming on ethnic grounds.

 

Ignoring the Trump threat to signings such as Ibrahimović or Mesut Ozil, Franck Ribery, or either of the Koure brothers is now more than remiss. There’s a list of good Muslim players at the end of this article. All would be unable to play here if Trump were elected and kept his promise.

Even if  Ibrahimović may not describe himself as a Muslim, we have no way of knowing how a Trump Presidency may choose to describe him. After all, a ridiculous proposition like ascertaining a potential immigrant’s religious beliefs, will almost certainly require a ridiculous solution.

Garber would not be alone if he criticised Trump’s divisive electoral rhetoric. As well as Hollywood, UK Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron  called Trump’s Muslim policy “stupid, divisive and wrong”. That’s a Conservative Prime Minister.

I am not a critic of Don Garber, in fact the opposite. I think he has done a great job as Commissioner and built the league to a strength we should not take for granted. I’ve interviewed him and can say I genuinely liked him. Garber speaks for our sport with an authority Sunil Gulati does not. With that also comes a responsibility.

He was brave enough to speak up when Jurgen Klinsmann teed him off but that was on an issue far less important than this one.

It’s my belief that the Commissioner should speak up. Say that Trump is wrong and that his values are not soccer’s. If David Cameron can do it, so can he.

It’s time to show that the Don’t Cross the Line campaign is more than a soundbyte saved for soft targets.

More Prost Politics

Muslim Footballers in Europe’s Top Clubs

Clubs listed as of compilation of list by the Hubpages.com in 2015.

Also see:

MLS silence speaks volumes over Georgia “anti gay” bill