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In today’s thread we’re looking at two other MLS owners who influenced MLS’s new draconian “Code of Conduct” which resulted in actions against Portland Timbers supporters & the banning of a long
used anti-racism/anti-fascism symbol which had been welcome & even promoted.
used anti-racism/anti-fascism symbol which had been welcome & even promoted.
If the league was so against keeping politics out of its stadiums,then the treatment of two men with an overtly political message being vastly different from the treatment of supporters upholding human rights shows that politics are fine as long as they are the “right” politics.
In case you’re just joining this discussion, you might want to read Timbers Army’s blog post here: timbersarmy.org/TimbersArmyBlog & our previous examination of the league’s actions against peaceful supporters with anti-racism/anti-fascism banners here:
We also looked into Phil Anschutz directly contributing to a candidate who had an extremely poor voting record on issues of civil rights & equality as well as his financially backing an organization which backed several racist campaigns:
So bringing things up to date, on Saturday two men brought a “Trump 2020” flag to Portland’s re-opening of Providence Park & their match vs LA FC:
MLS had previously stated the reason they had acted against supporters with an anti-racism/anti-fascism banner in Vancouver was because it was considered “political”: sounderatheart.com/2017/10/30/165…
Even Rich Kurz, news director at KOIN, Portland's CBS affiliate noticed this violation of MLS's Code of Conduct:
This was not lost on Timber's Army who upon seeing the Trump flag did their job as you’d expect them to:
And the hypocrisy on the part of MLS and Portland Timbers front office was undeniable:
According to reports MLS & the Portland Timbers front office had other ideas & made the two men feel a bit more comfortable.
Not only weren’t they kicked out, they were moved to another better section:
Supposedly they were moved for "protection" rather than kicked out for violating the same league police used to kick out those affirming human rights:
Not only that but its been reported that the two guys with the Trump flag were told they'd be welcome to bring it and wave it at future matches:
The way these two men were reportedly treated after they were escorted from their section with a clearly political flag differs greatly from the two Seattle supporters threatened with arrest in Vancouver for having an anti-racist/anti-fascist banner....
...Or Portland’s own fans being refused entry and harassed for Iron Front pins
Furthermore there were reports that a member of Portland Timbers security staff joked with the two men in their customer center and called Timbers Army “pathetic”.
So one might wonder why would there be such a blatant double-standard in the treatment of the Trump supporters vs the SEA fans who were threatened with arrest in Vancouver & kicked out for an anti-racism/anti-fascism banner or PDX fans being harassed over small Iron Front pins?
New England’s Robert Kraft and Colorado’s Stan Kroenke have contributed to Donald Trump. Kraft even went as far as to call Trump a friend of his and both men contributed $1 million towards Trump’s inauguration party after he was elected. usatoday.com/story/sports/n…
Most reasonable people having examined the track record of Trump’s racist statements & actions including famously proclaiming after a woman against racism was killed by white-supremacists at fascist hate rally in Charlottesville,VA “There were good & bad people on both sides.”
Of course Trump’s racism predates Charlottesville & was well known at the time Robert Kraft & Stan Kroenke backed him. Trump’s racism is so prevalent that it has even become a joke when people try to deny it:
So no, MLS, we will not relent on this issue until you take your own "Don't Cross the Line" slogan to heart. You can start by removing the ban on an anti-racism/anti-fascism symbol you showed on your own site: mlssoccer.com/post/2017/08/1…
We’ve learned why both the league pivoting towards acting against people with anti-racism/anti-fascism messages and symbols as well as courting sponsors like Chick-fil-A & treating the two people with a Trump 2020 flag in PDX to an upgrade is happening.The hypocrisy is disgusting
MLS by banning the Iron Front symbol has already lead to an incident by those who felt emboldened. Further, unequal treatment makes an even clearer statement that MLS has crossed the line. These arrows may fly but they will never run: 
Video of Timber's Army's reaction:
