Thread by @SIfill_

Irrelevant. WOW. “This team built its brand on winning.” Yes.That gives you the obligation to demand payment in accordance w/your worth. Which was their central “stance.” But that’s not what you mean is it?Since you were a professional American athlete, let me try to educate you.

https://twitter.com/alexilalas/status/1688322976083492865

If by “stance” you mean support for LGBTQ rights, let’s go there. Their captain is gay. We may not have long for it, but in 2015 the US Supreme Court upheld the right of gay ppl to marry on the grounds that Constitution entitles them to “equal dignity before the law.”

Even today, THAT is the law of the land. The USWNT support for a world that recognizes the dignity of its captain & other members of the team AND MUCH OF ITS FAN BASE is not some fringe position. It is in keeping with the law of the land as affirned by the SCOTUS.

But that’s maybe not what you mean. It’s perhaps “taking a knee” & supporting the dignity if Black ppl to be protected from arbitrary discrimination and murder by officers of the state? Well I agree its been controversial which is precisely when those w/a platform must speak.

Alexei, the USWNT have acted in a tradition of great athletes including Muhammad Ali - who took a controversial stance but also won & lost fights. Of Jackie Robinson who spoke out, and who won and lost championships. Of Arthur Ashe who stood up, but also won and lost.

They joined great athletes like Lebron James, Michael Jordan, the WNBA and many others in standing up for the right of Black ppl to be first class citizens in our country. These are not positions you take b/c you expect only to win championships. You take them out of respect &

solidarity with fellow athletes and your fans. They lost after a run of winning. That is sports! You should know that. Irrelevance? The most “irrelevant” team in American professional sports is the USMNT. They have no tradition of winning the World Cup.

They’ve even become spotty on even qualifying. They have gone backwards from their terrific momentum in the 90s and early aughts. They are often embarrassing in lack of speed & failure to master master the fundamentals of the game at the highest level (crisp, accurate passing).

They are plagued by mismanagement, incompetent leadership and nepotism. For all this they were paid more than the women. They have had and have no bigger booster than you, Alexei. You have championed the “American style of play” (??) which is a losing style.

You have never suggested that they face irrelevance, even though they are. Their brand is mediocrity and you and your broadcasting colleagues fight to keep them relevant with nationalistic fervor. That’s what it’s all about I guess. Being a fan. Loving your team no matter what.

In my view you & your colleagues have done a disservice to the USMNT by not creating an atmosphere in which they would be pressed to improce. But I digress. The USWNT could only face irrelevance if they are held to a different & manufactured standard than that imposed on male

athletes. They lost one championship this year. They will win again. Their brand and tradition is winning. They added aomething else to their brand - courage and integrity. We expect it of them. That’s why their role models. They will tend to both aspects of their brand.

Finally, the Supreme Court said in the marriage equality case in 2015 said “it is the nature of injustice that we may not always see it in our own times.” Many athletes have played a vital role in helping us see injustice. They are among the pantheon of athletes

we respect and revere the most. For the USWNT, after giving us years of exciting play, then a tough loss, after being targeted by the thrice indicted & twice impeached fmr President to his tens of millions of fans, the least they could expect is support from fellow athletes…..

and a measure of grace from commentators who have offered unconditional support to their (perpetually losing) male counterparts whose best W. performance was in 1930. You are not just “making observations.” You are influencing viewers to judge the USWNT by a different measure.

Fin.