It isn’t surprising that Major League Soccer has taken action regarding what officials deemed to be inappropriate comments from a member of the league staff.
MLS has worked hard through the years to be inclusive across the entire population spectrum, across all ranges of ethnicity, sexuality, gender, age, etc. “Respect for diversity is a core principle of MLS and we are proud of the diversity of our League and its fans,” a league statement said today.
So when Simon Borg kicked up a dust storm with comments construed as sexist, MLS took action this afternoon, suspending the Extra Time podcast host and MLSSoccer.com editor for seven days. The league will also require employees to undergo diversity and sensitivity training on an annual basis, according to the statement.
Here is a portion of the comments in question, from the April 29 edition of Extra Time. (The remarks have now been edited out of the podcast.)
It’s fine if you’re a female and you want to be a super-fan. Clearly go for it, that’s your choice. But there is something to be said for how appealing that might be to the other sex. Having a woman that’s such a fan, like painting your face, tuning in to every podcast. I don’t know how many males would be into that.”
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- surly1n1nd1anapol1s - May 2, 2012 at 6:44 PM
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They’d attract more eyes on their league if their core value was quality soccer.
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- sluggo271 - May 2, 2012 at 9:08 PM
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Couldnt agree more. It is really hard to watch sometimes. I cant wait for the day when skill and style is valued over out right brutal and physical thuggish play. Sometimes I wonder how some of these guys are even allowed to play in MLS.
And I do follow and support MLS. I attend Sporting matches and subscribe to direct kick. But only an idiot couldn’t tell the difference between MLS and other top leagues.
Now bash me.
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- Steve Davis - May 3, 2012 at 11:58 AM
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No bashing you here. I think MLS recognized, belatedly, what you’re saying. In fairness, issues of financial solvency needed addressing first … otherwise there would be no league and no opportunity to improve/bash quality. But they did get around to higher quality through better game management later than I would have liked. I can say so with authority … because I beat on MLS almost weekly about this while writing previously for Soccernet and later for SI.com.
