Never have I been prouder of the Seattle Sounders organization than on Oct. 31, 2017, when they issued a statement in support of several ECS members who had been forcibly removed from a playoff game in Vancouver for displaying a sign that read “Anti-fascist/Anti-racist/Always Seattle.” The statement, which bore the signatures of all four owners, made clear in no uncertain terms that the organization considered anti-fascism and anti-racism to be values that stood above politics.
It was a seemingly obvious message, granted, but it also ran counter to what a MLS spokesperson had told me was the league’s position a day earlier.