LAFC Manager Fined for Weather Report

Or, Why MLS Needs to Shut the Heck Up

Los Angeles FC manager Steve Cherundolo spoke the truth this week and got hit with a major fine for it.

In other news, MLS shows it cannot be taken seriously as a league.

Last weekend LAFC and Real Salt Lake played in a match that by all accounts was farcical and dangerous. The match was delayed two hours and then interrupted soon after it started due to snow and lightning. The match eventually continued in these unpleasant conditions which led to numerous memes and lots of questions being asked, mostly just “why”.

After the match, Cherundolo said this (according to the AP):

“It was not difficult conditions — impossible conditions. An absolute joke that we had to play today. Not safe for the players. One of the worst professional sporting events I’ve ever seen in my life. I'm actually, I feel terrible for the players, we put them through this. Game could have been and should have been called many times beforehand. In my opinion, an absolute disgrace that we played today.”

MLS then took the appropriate action. Realizing endangering players to get a game in and recognizing that while the schedule is important, quality of play is more so, the league issued apologies to both teams and pledged to create a new weather policy.

Just kidding, in reality, they hit back hard on Cherundolo.

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MLS dropped a $10k fine on the manager because the league competition manual defines public criticism as the following (thank you again AP): “conduct that is detrimental to the public image and reputation of MLS and/or the club. Such behavior is subject to discipline by the commissioner or his designee.”

Basically MLS is saying the game itself was not detrimental, but the comments were.

Leagues and fans want their managers to be interesting. We mock the people who recite rote answers that are professionally polished and devoid of meaning. Yet there is a reason so many managers (and players and owners) are boring. When they step outside the box of not offensive, forces align to put them in their place. Usually, it is internet fans and podcasts that castigate a manager for speaking his or her mind, invoking things like professionalism or respect for the game and so forth.

In this case, we have a worse situation. The league itself decided to come down and metaphorically slap the manager to put him back in line for legitimate criticisms. Cherundolo doesn’t call out individuals but just says that he thinks it was horrible that they even played. The league should be bigger than that and either (a) address the issue or (b) let the manager blow off steam and ignore it.

Instead they make an even worse choice, draw attention to their poor decisions, and compound the issue by cracking down on the coach. MLS wants their product to be fascinating and edgy, but only on their terms. Actions like this scream insecurity and guilt. They should have let Cherundolo have his say and let the situation pass, to show other managers they can be opinionated without consequence (to a limit of course).

MLS wants their product to be interesting in the way they want it to be interesting, and there’s little room for deviation. Ticky tack decisions like this reinforce that perception, and encourage managers to be seen and not heard.