ISTANBUL, Turkey -- It was six o'clock on a December evening. Inside his apartment in one of the wealthiest areas of Istanbul, DeAndre Yedlin gestured toward the view out his floor-to-ceiling windows. Twenty-four stories below, one of the world's grandest, most fascinating cities twinkled in the twilight.
But Yedlin didn't leave his apartment on this night, not even to take his baby daughter for a stroll. His team, Galatasaray, was coming off a discouraging loss to Sivasspor. It hardly mattered that Yedlin performed well; until the club won again, it wouldn't be prudent for him to be seen in public.