NFL
By: Zachary Draves
From the very beginning, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar has been saturated with politics. Every pertinent issue including LGBTQ+ rights, the deaths of migrant workers during construction of the stadiums, environmental disasters, and FIFA’s continuous window dressing of their gross incompetence on these matters has been front and center. Certainly these bleak surroundings are depressing, but if there can be any breath of fresh air in this vile toxic fume, it can come from the spirit and vitality of the US Men’s National Team.
Historically disadvantaged in the World Cup considering that the US men have never won, they have defied expectations and made it to the Round of 16 after their symbolic 1-0 victory over Iran on Tuesday, which marks the farthest they have gotten in the tournament up to this point since 2014.
(Courtesy: Associated Press)
It was that match in particular that carried much significance for a myriad of reasons.
This victory comes at a time when Iran, a longstanding enemy of the US, is in the midst of a full blown human rights crisis after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22 year old woman who was arrested by Iran’s so called morality police for not wearing her hijab properly. Since then, protests have erupted in the streets of Tehran and there has been a widespread global showing of solidarity for the rights of Iranian women and girls. The regime has recently been threatening protestors in with the death penalty and have killed a 27 year old man who openly cheered the US victory.
Now that Iran has been eliminated from the tournament, there have been reports that the players and their families are potentially going to be subjected to arrest and imprisonment upon return, for refusing to sing during the playing of their national anthem before their match against England, presumably in protest of the regime’s actions.
Meanwhile the US team has been consistently on the right side of this issue.
Prior to the match, US team captain Tyler Adams gave us a masterclass performance in intelligence, nuance, and maturity when confronted by an Iranian journalist during a press conference over his mispronouncing of the country’s name and about representing the US against the backdrop of a longstanding history of racial discrimination.
(Courtesy: Getty Images)
In response, Adams said:
“My apologies on the mispronunciation of your country. That being said, there’s discrimination everywhere you go. One thing that I’ve learned, especially from living abroad in the past years and having to fit into different cultures and kind of assimilate into different cultures—is that in the U.S., we’re continuing to make progress every single day.
Growing up for me, I grew up in a white family with obviously an African American heritage and background, as well. So I had a little bit of different cultures, and I was very, very easily able to assimilate in different cultures. Not everyone has that, that ease and the ability to do that, and obviously it takes longer for some to understand. Through education, I think it’s super important, like you just educated me now on the pronunciation of your country. It’s a process. I think, as long as you see progress, that’s the most important thing.”
Then US Soccer erased the Islamic regime emblem from the Iranian flag on a Twitter post about the Group B standings in support of the protests. In response, Iran called for the US to be expelled from the tournament.
This has come to solidify the progressive values the USMNT has grown to embody over the last few years.
In November 2020, they wore a team jacket with a racial and social justice message written on the back before a friendly match against Wales, which occurred against the backdrop of that year’s racial justice protests after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmud Arbery.
(Courtesy: USMNT/Twitter)
In May 2022, they happily joined with the USWNT in signing a historic equal pay agreement in which both teams will split all World Cup earnings going forward. The $13 million of guaranteed money from the men’s team moving forward in the tournament will automatically be split evenly at $6.5 million each. As a result, the USWNT has been able to earn more money than not only the men but also from their own tournament victories in 2015 and 2019.
As the tournament commenced, the team signaled their open support for LGBTQ+ rights as part of their “Be the Change” initiative launched in 2020 and having a rainbow themed logo on the wall of their training facility in Qatar.
(Courtesy: Carl Recine/Reuters)
Finally, this is the most diverse team in their history. Of the twenty six players in total, nine were born in different states and four in other countries. Twelve of the players are black, four are Hispanic, and a total of seven languages are spoken.
(Courtesy: Brad Smith/ISI Photos)
Whatever happens going forward as they set to take on the Netherlands on Saturday, the USMNT has entered into a new era. Not only are they showcasing a redefined version of American exceptionalism on the pitch, they exude the best of Americanism off it with their social and geopolitical positions.
In all, they represent the best in all of us.
