The Curious Case of Robbie Rogers
Several months ago former Columbus Crew, Leeds United, and USMNT player Robbie Rogers announced that he was stepping away from the beautiful game because he was gay, and did not believe he could be open about his sexuality and continue his chosen career. Support from around England and the USA flooded toward Rogers who used his new profile to garner an internship at Men's Health, an offer of a place at a prestigious fashion design school, and loads of interviews including the Guardian and Anderson Cooper. He was even called last Monday for his support and advice by Jason Collins of the NBA before his coming out.
While ESPN was constantly scrolling and reporting on the Collins announcement, one couldn't help but think of Robbie Rogers. The next two days, Rogers made his return to the beautiful game (sort of), by training with the LA Galaxy, which he had previously mentioned as a possibility in his Guardian interview. In the immediate aftermath of Rogers putting a kit on once again, Landon Donovan came out and suggested it was time for Rogers to come back to the game, and in particular LA. Bruce Arena praised Rogers fitness and lack of rust and also suggested that Rogers might be a good fit for LA. Frank Kloppas, Chicago Fire head coach, the team which actually owns Rogers rights, reiterated what he had said all along, which is that he desires Rogers to play for him in Chicago. Not to be outdone, Sigi Schmidt, Rogers former manager with title winning Columbus Crew and current manager of Seattle Sounders stated that he too would love to have Rogers join up with his club should he decide to play again.
While Rogers doesn't have the cache of a Jason Collins due to his playing the beautiful game as opposed to basketball, his case is one which should be garnering more interest, and is far more interesting. While Collins is a free agent and has a chance to find the best fit for himself as far as the right team and right support, Rogers, if he chooses to return to MLS, has a much different path the tread.
Chicago Fire traded for the rights of Rogers before his coming out in hopes that his departure from Leeds and failure to find his feet after injury issues in England would see the player come back to MLS. Due to MLS rules, should Rogers wish to come back to MLS, there will be many parties at play in his return. Any contract that Rogers should sign is with MLS, not any individual club. The League Office will play a vital role in any return. Chicago Fire own his rights and desire to have the player, so should the player wish to return to the league, he either has to agree to play for Chicago, or find a team he does desire willing to force a trade of equal value to the Fire, and again the league comes to play. In theory, Chicago could say "In return for the rights to Robbie who we value, we want Landon Donovan, take it or leave it." A deal LA would never accept. Once again the league would step in and force a more realistic deal, forcing Chicago to settle for Michael Stephens (just a suggestion) or a draft pick, maybe allocation money. Perhaps not a fair and equal trade, but better than nothing at all. Should Seattle or another team enter the sweepstakes and be appealing to Rogers, a bidding war could potentially ensue, adding multiple clubs, Rogers, and MLS to the negotiating mix.
With the rules as they are, Rogers will eventually be able to force a deal through if a club and MLS truly want him, but getting there may be more complicated in every way than any deal Collins should find for himself. While there is a new marketplace for "gaythletes" (Yes, I coined a new term), as always has been the case in the US, footballers are second class citizens. While the traumas faced by returning Americans to MLS are not exclusive to gay footballers, in the new world of out athletes, a gaythlete has a much more difficult road to travel.
Should he chose to return to the game, Rogers has a support system already built in with LA, his family. In Chicago, there is a very vibrant and healthy gay community. All things that need to be taken into consideration before any gaythlete makes a move. But the rules and regulations of MLS can make the situation more difficult for the player. While I don't believe MLS should give preferential treatment to out players, I also don't believe they should scrap their current system completely, where in a free market Chicago would find themselves holding an empty bag.
I don't believe the national press will really take hold of the Rogers situation, or the predicament that MLS should find itself in upon his return, but I believe they should. Not only should Rogers be treated with the same type of groundbreaking fanfare as Jason Collins, the inner workings of MLS should also be exposed, debated, and discussed. With MLS, the story isn't just the gaythlete, but MLS itself, a much more layered and intriguing story in my mind than anything Collins or the NBA could throw at us. As it pertains to the Robbie Rogers situation, sexuality may be the least interesting aspect of the story.
Oil Billions With A Budget
The hot story in the press over recent days has been the pending announcement of Manchester City owner Sheik Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan becoming the owner of the 20th MLS club, to be named New York City FC, and playing in Queens.
As a Manchester United fan, nothing would turn my stomach more than such a partnership. As an MLS fan, nothing would make me happier. Or so I thought. But with a little time to ponder the deal, I am left with more questions and concerns than perhaps I should have from something as simple as a billionaire buying an MLS franchise.
The immediate reports from England were that Sheik Mansour would use NYCFC as an academy of sorts, a place to send young players who need match time, or a place to send overpriced signings they are having troubles getting rid of as Designated Players. It also would give them an added youth academy to mine talent from, with any rare talent being found getting sent "up" to the "big" club.
One question that arose from this developing news, is "why would Sheik Mansour want to buy an MLS franchise?". While the English press speculated that the Sheik wanted to expand his footprint into America, and that while India, China, etc are seen as the developing nations of football, the USA is really the treasure trove of emerging nations due to wealth, population, and the games presence which is growing, but has much more room to grow, I see the situation slightly differently. As other billionaire MLS owners have suggested, its smart business, not something you hear often when it comes to football clubs. Other than from stadiums, MLS clubs do not carry debt, and their entire payroll is comparable to one top EPL player. This is a chance for Manchester City and Sheik Mansour to get a foot in the door in the US and grow their market share, while paying a bargain basement price for the potential return, even at $100 Million in a transfer fee.
Many MLS fans have been excited by the prospect of the money and talent the Sheik can bring to NYCFC and MLS, but I for one am being extremely skeptical. This seems to me to be a case of what can MLS do for Sheik Mansour, as opposed to what Sheik Mansour can do for MLS. I would love to return to this topic with a more in depth look at the mountains of possibilities it could entail, but I will save that for the official announcement. I'm sure you're breathless with anticipation.
Timber Taka
With 14 points from 9 matches played, this surely isn't John Spencer's Portland Timbers. "Porter-ball" is what Arlo White dubbed it, a term Caleb Porter hates, and with good reason. The style with which Portland plays is not really "Porter-ball", as this squad is not yet fully Caleb Porter's players.
While I did coin a new term earlier with "gaythlete", I now would like to add a fresh term to the American soccer fan vernacular that joins other such brilliant inventions as "Boom Boom Chelis" and "Landycakes", terms I did not create but use in my daily lingo. The new term is a much more appropriate term for the style of play that is currently the unaptly named "Porter-ball", and that term is "Timber Taka".
My only fear for this current incarnation of the Portland Timbers is that due to injuries in the back and overall defensive frailty, Portland will stumble down the table when the goals inevitably dry up for a spell during the season.
A Question Of Depth
One of the issues with MLS expansion is the thinning of league depth, an issue MLS has struggled with for quite some time. Back when MLS was 10 clubs, half of what it will be after the addition of NYCFC, 1-11 was a strong bunch of players, while today you have 6 names on the team sheet, and then a squad to support them.
Roger Espinoza, former Sporting KC player also brought this subject up recently when discussing the differences of playing in England as opposed to playing in MLS. He suggested that the main difference between the EPL and MLS is one of competition. In England, a player needs to fight to attain a starting role, fight to get onto the subs bench, and fight to keep those roles once they are achieved. In MLS, this isn't the case, players are much more comfortable. When you know your name is on the team sheet no matter what, what are you really fighting or striving for?
For MLS to grow as a league and reach the potential Don Garber and the fans expect, player depth and competition will need to catch up to the expansion. My hope is that after NYCFC joins the league, the league will put a moratorium on expansion until depth catches up. The league does need a presence in the South, but with Orlando's stadium plans apparently dead, best case scenario would not be expanding yet again to 21 clubs, but the sale and move of Chivas USA to Atlanta or another southern market, maintaining the league as is until a balance has returned to the league.
The Importance of 2014
As NYCFC looks to enter MLS, another key moment in MLS history will be taking place, the television rights for the leagues stagnant viewership will once again come up for bidding.
NBC has put their eggs into the EPL basket, and rightly so, so the MLS bid from them may be dead on arrival. ESPN has been in the game for years and has strong backing from the top should John Skipper continue to run the network, but stability is not always the case in television. Fox has stated an intent to get back into MLS, but without a network devoted to it as Fox Soccer falls away and becomes FX2, I fear the bidding for the rights will be a war of attrition with MLS losing.
What many fans do not realize is that if MLS ratings could increase even marginally, and the bidding for the rights reached a similar level to that of the deals the NHL has with the networks, the MLS salary cap would increase dramatically, increasing the quality of the product and the depth of talent.
As I've said before, if you're not a fan, you're a problem.
Thank you for reading. Until next time, remember, MLS Matters.
