People reasonably assumed Sydney Leroux’s tweet, sent in the wake of the U.S.'s 3-0 victory at BMO Field, referenced the crowd in Toronto. Let’s not be too rash. As we discussed yesterday, Canadian soccer fans’ problems with the U.S. international extend well beyond Sunday’s game. She first appeared for the senior team in 2011, was cap-tied in early 2012, and was playing for U.S. youth teams well before that. Sunday may have been her first appearance in Toronto, but Leroux’s abuse from disappointed Canadians is a well-established phenomenon.
In case you missed what happened yesterday: Leroux, a Canadian-born U.S. international, came on to boos in the 74th minute. Every touch, she was booed. In stoppage time, she scored a goal, turned to the crowd and lifted her shirt’s U.S. crest in celebration before holding her finger to her lips, shushing the boos (and worse, via this NSFW audio).
Again, this isn’t necessarily about booing a player or sending random Twitter barbs to somebody’s account. This is about the aspects that transcend typical practice. This isn’t about one player’s otherwise commonplace celebration (please spare the Robin van Persie comparisons; they’re inapplicable here). It’s about the xenophobic in-game commentary from Sportsnet. It’s about inappropriately personal commentary that crossed the line of reasonable broadcaster inquiry. It’s about potential racism claims, all of which go beyond fans being fans.
And it’s important to keep in mind that, at this point, this is just potential racism. What people hear is often different from what was said, and personal interpretation adds another layer of potential obfuscation. The Canadian Soccer Association will pursue this, as will U.S. Soccer, and if there is something to what Leroux is claiming, it may well apply to last January’s Olympic qualifiers in Vancouver. Or the barrage of negativity Leroux deals with on social media. As with her celebration, Leroux’s tweet represents the culmination of years of conflict. We can’t assume Toronto.
I’m cynical enough to assume every prominent player of color has at one point overheard some insecure moron mouthing off from the wrong end of of their blood alcohol level. Idiots like this (NSFW) existed before Sunday’s goal, oo when I see claims like Leroux’s hit the world, I tend to believe them, think they happen more than we know, but also just shake my head in disappointment at a world so ignorant that racism’s become a “yeah, of course that happened” occurrence. I don’t think this will ever stop; rather, we have to continue a dialog that leads to an world where such behaviors are increasingly unacceptable.
If the latest incident happening in Toronto, the CSA and USSF have an opportunity to send a message, if not take some kind of action against whomever said it. If Leroux’s referencing something from the past, unfortunately, this is a topic for discussion, not investigation. Regardless, and beyond the Leroux incident, we need to consider why people still feel entitled to bring hate speech into the public realm. Odds are our own “yeah, of course” attitudes are part of the problem.