The Richmond Kickers’ USL Pro title-clinching 2-0 win over Orlando City SC on Wednesday has been overshadowed by allegations of racist remarks from the stands. Orlando City defender Kevin Ellis (pictured), on loan from Sporting Kansas City, had an altercation with several Kickers fans, according to a statement from the league.
“USL has initiated an investigation into an alleged incident between Orlando City player Kevin Ellis and a small group of Richmond Kickers fans at Wednesday night’s match at City Stadium in Richmond,” the statement reads. “League officials are working actively to gather information from various parties. USL PRO and its clubs strongly condemn all forms of abuse and will not tolerate any such actions from its players, coaches, fans, or anyone in involved with the league.”
Ellis posted on Twitter after the match about the incident, but those tweets have since been deleted.
On Thursday, Kickers fans responded to the allegations using the same medium:@Kev_Ellis4 @USLPRO I didn’t hear anything racist. I saw you come over to a fan, point your finger in his face and say “I’ll f**ck you up!”
— Tom AFC-DCU (@rvagooner) August 15, 2013@Kev_Ellis4 @uslpro 2) What was racist? We did speak down to you because you were a sub rather than a starter, but nothing was about race.
— Chris Harrison (@britinva) August 15, 2013@kev_ellis4 @uslpro That said, sorry the Mom comments caused you pain. And whatever you heard as racist certainly wasn’t intended that way.
— Chris Harrison (@britinva) August 15, 2013Follow @liviubird