RSL, Utah Royals owner faces backlash for comments on boycott protesting Jacob Blake's shooting
The comments came after Real Salt Lake, Hansen's Major League Soccer club, and LAFC decided not to play their match at Rio Tinto Stadium on Wednesday.
Published : Aug 28, 2020 10:36 IST
Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals owner Dell Loy Hansen has come under criticism for comments he made on a local radio show after RSL players protested racial injustice by not taking the field for a match. "It's like someone stabbed you and then you're trying to figure out a way to pull the knife out and move forward. That's what it feels like. The disrespect was profound to me, personally," Hansen said Thursday morning on X96, a Salt Lake City radio station he owns. The comments came after Real Salt Lake, Hansen's Major League Soccer club, and LAFC decided not to play their match at Rio Tinto Stadium on Wednesday. It was one of five MLS matches called off as athletes reacted to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
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MLS Commissioner Don Garber issued a statement that said: "I appreciate Dell Loy Hansen's efforts to build the sport of soccer in Utah. His commitment to MLS, the NWSL and the USL, as well as the game at the youth level, has been significant. However, I strongly disagree with the comments he made today and the way they were expressed. They do not reflect the views of MLS."READ:
The scheduled MLS match at Rio Tinto on Wednesday was the first to include fans, although at a reduced capacity of about 5,000. Hansen suggested on the radio show that he would not be allowing fans at the games in the future, and would cut as many as 50 jobs as a result. Former RSL and U.S. national team goalkeeper Nick Rimando was among those who also criticized Hansen rsl COMMENTS BACKLASH ."Wow just wow! I can't even right now. realsaltlake locker room, fans, and front office that stand for equality, human rights, and the fight against racism I applaud you. I am disgusted by DLH comments. This is more than a game," Rimando wrote on Twitter.