Legal Week Day 2: Mehr et al v. Federation Internationale de Football Association et al

Back in August of 2014 a group of parents sued FIFA and several US based soccer organizations, claiming in part they failed to warn or protect children from concussions. A particular focus regarded repetitive heading of the ball.

While the suit was dismissed (opinion here) for reasons I will briefly go into, there is a point lurking in there somewhere as some of the sports greats and future greats have had a career cut short due to these injuries. Taylor Twellman comes to mind among many.

We have seen the serious effects of concussion (in general in The Game) not just from headers in the 2014 World Cup with a staggering Christoph Kramer asking the referee " ... is this the final?"

In the US, risks of head injuries in sports has been a recurring concern. In mid-2014 the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) agreed to settle a head injury lawsuit by creating a $70 million fund for concussion testing. Some of the same lawyers involved in that case filed the subject lawsuit.

While the suit at hand sought no "direct damages" (i.e. money to the plaintiffs) it did look to institute a (unbelievably broad) medical monitoring program, as well as attorneys fees and tried to alter the LOTG to "limit" the number of time players could head the ball and making it "easier" to substitute if such an injury is suspected.

The suit against FIFA was dismissed and can not be brought again as the judge made it clear FIFA had no standing in such a case. In short, the ties to the US game are too tenuous to drag them into court over this issue. Plaintiffs tried *hard* to do this ... but no avail.

The suit against the US organizations, see p.3 of the opinion for a nifty chart, was also dismissed, but not prejudicially so ... it can come back, and I believe will. In part the dismissal was the fact the all of the plaintiffs did not currently have injuries that were being claimed. In short, they (fortunately) all recovered from their injuries that lead to the suit in the first place. Also part of the decision was the fact the parents (of the minors) knew and assumed the risk of the possibility of injury of the type claimed.

There were a few statements when this was first filed that caught my eye. First was the AYSO saying it's "... highest priority is creating a safe and nurturing environment where kids can play and have fun ..." and AYSO requires any player exhibiting signs of a concussion immediately be removed for the remainder of the day.

*HUH?*

Any AYSO referees out there aware of that? It is certainly not uniformly adopted across the US.

Also, from the attorneys, a well crafted and foreboding statement:
"For many families soccer is seen as a terrific alternative to football ... . Parents are often relieved when their children choose soccer. However, soccer ranks among the top sports in the number of concussions per game."

I'll tell you folks (and for any who have heard me speak on the topic you have) as a referee, don't mess around here. If a player takes a knock in the head, stop the game and get the coaches. Don't evaluate, don't try to play through, stop and get the coach or trainer.

Also, know the symptoms of a concussion, not to medically diagnose one as this by many reports can take 8-10 minutes, but to be casually familiar if you see such behavior. If you do, stop the match and get the coach or trainer. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, stop right there.

We are in a funny time right now where the rule making bodies and organizing folks are under threat of suit, scared, and don't know how to proceed as a whole. (In conversations it is clear many folks do know how to proceed but getting a large body to agree is the issue here) As referees lets make it easy on them, and in turn ourselves.

A blow to the head, stop, get help, and remove the player.

Signs of a concussion, stop, get help, and remove the player.

Yes, you may tick a few folks off in stopping play when particularly advantageous circumstances exists, but I would argue, those folks who would ask to continue when another player is suffering such a condition, have a "head injury" themselves.

Legal Week Day 1: "Deflategate"

So unless you have been traveling on New Horizons somewhere near Pluto you have heard of "Deflategate" where various members of the New England Patriots have been accused of doctoring game balls and then covering up that event.

This has a life of its own now and with an announcement out any day now from the NFL league office I am going to let it be, with one exception ... the referees.

Interestingly, the "Wells Report" commissioned by the NFL and created by investigator Ted Wells is highly complimentary of the officiating crew and states in part Dr. Walt Anderson, the referee for the contest and a 19-year NFL veteran, as an organized, by-the-book, detail-orientated referee.

Fro the report itself:
“It is obvious that he approaches his responsibilities with a high level of professionalism and integrity.”

It is also stated how Dr. Anderson tested the footballs before the AFC title game, noting he had not one, but two air-pressure gauges, and used a gold pen to mark the footballs that were tested. He also marked the spare footballs in case they were to be used, but only after asking NFL senior director of officiating Alberto Riveron for permission.

Understanding that the LOTG spells out how the balls have to be prepared for The Game, what other procedures do you use to assure the balls used are ones that have been tested.



Now you may think this is not a big deal ... and in general I may have agreed as generally a referee may give a ball the "Charmin Test" before putting it in play and no more.



At the professional and international level this is a daunting task and is generally delegated to the 4th official and there are a couple of dozen balls to go through and requires a pressure gauge to make sure the pressure is correct as players are increasingly sensitive to such changes.

Now, I am going to recommend folks start carrying a pressure gauge and a marker pen to even youth matches. Why you ask, surely not due to "Deflategate"?

Nope, I have no fear of FIFA coming down on me as a referee if a ball is under, or more importantly over inflated.

My reason is, and this is a stretch, as we will see tomorrow there was a HUGE lawsuit that was just dismissed, but I have no doubt is coming back and is over soccer players, headers, and concussions. My logic is simple, the harder the ball, the possible greater chance of a concussion (up to a 30% in this report for heading). While the particular suit did not involve referees directly ... how soon is it before a referee gets questions about ball pressure or is required to show before each match the ball was properly inflated? After all, we should be doing this anyway.

Whacky ... yes ... a bit ... but when you see the verdict and some info I will present about concussions later this week, you may at least pause to make sure a ball gets more than the Charmin test before a match. Get in the habit now ... gauge it, fix it, mark it ... done.

Special trivia for the FIFA video above too ... can anyone name the FIFA referee at :53 of the video? I'll give you a hint ... he is really not welcome in Italy and was recently released from jail. I was very surprised FIFA used him in the video (2) years after his conviction.

"Legal Week" At Kicking Back

Readers of Kicking Back,

Over the last few weeks there have been more than a few "legal stories" in the news regarding soccer. This next week I will share them with you as well as some opinions about the future that may result from my point of view. These are more than just the FIFA goings-on, but some other things that affect every single referee.

We start tomorrow ... stay tuned.

Will they get a Caution from "The Don?"

MLS players react to picks of Lampard, Gerrard for All-Star Game

The first 13 names on the 2015 MLS All-Star team caused no small amount of consternation among players and fans. Neither of the league's top two leading goal scorers (Columbus' Kei Kamara and Toronto's Sebastian Giovinco) made the Fan XI, which is determined via online voting. Columbus' Ethan Finlay, a rising star who currently leads the league in assists, also failed to garner enough votes.

But no two names aroused as much criticism from fellow players as the two "Commissioner's picks" for the event: NYCFC's Frank Lampard and the L.A. Galaxy's Steven Gerrard. Both high-profile midfielders have only just started training with their clubs, and neither had played a single second of MLS action at the time Commissioner Don Garber summoned them to appear in the All-Star game.

Players league-wide took to Twitter to vent their frustrations. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of SI.com.

Kicking Back Comments: This is brilliant stuff from these players!! Kudos to all of them for their clever responses to (a good business and) a poor player management decision. 

I get what Mr. Garber is doing and from a league perspective (of which he is responsible) it makes sense. From the perspective of equity for players who actually deserve to be playing in that All Star match, he of course is dead wrong. Then again, life is not fair either.

All that aside, it is great to see players have the courage to shoot a few barbs @thesoccerdon as he earned them. I do wonder however, if there will be any fines or other "cautionary tales" coming back at these folks.

Stay Tuned.

Boston Testing New Child Protection for Soccer

See the whole silly article and video (!)  here, courtesy of the Boston.com.

Kicking Back Comments: I'm not sure why they picked soccer to do this with frankly ... running full tilt into an opponent does not seem like much fun. Clearly these guys have not taken physics and what effect greatly varied masses have on impact force ...

Funny none the less.

Very Cool SI ... Very Cool

SI honors World Cup-winning U.S. women with a cover for each player

The U.S. women’s national team made history by becoming the first to win three Women’s World Cups, snapping a 16-year title drought to do so by beating Japan 5-2 in the final and capping a memorable month in Canada.

To honor that achievement, Sports Illustrated has come up with a one-of-a-kind cover shoot. Instead of one cover to honor the 23 players and coach Jill Ellis, one for each of them. From Golden Ball winner Carli Lloyd to veteran stalwarts Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe to backup goalkeepers Alyssa Naeher and Ashlyn Harris, each member of the World Cup-winning squad, posing with the World Cup trophy, has her own cover as part of a unique set. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of SI.com.

Kicking Back Comments: While the title says it all, I was very concerned about one thing ... In the article I saw AARP now has Brandi Chastain as a spokesperson!! She is 46 years old. Now ignoring momentarily I am about the same age as Brandi ... is there a substantial generation gap between the juggernaut team of ole and today?

It certainly gave me pause ...

Kicking Back - OUT!

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

Friends,

Over the next week or so I am going to be out and about and generally unavailable.

We would like to wish all our readers of Kicking Back a happy, safe, and mindful holiday season over this Independence Day.

We'll certainly be back at it for a recap on the Womens' World Cup and other significant happenings on our return.

Thanks for reading!

Drone-Gate?

Some NFL Teams Are Being Probed for Using Drones to Film Practice

National Football League teams have taken to the skies in their search for a competitive edge, launching drones to film their practices.

“You can coach better. You see hand placement, you see where they have their feet and where they have their eyes,” said Jason Garrett, coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

The problem is, it’s illegal to fly the unmanned aircraft for any commercial purpose without first getting a Federal Aviation Administration waiver. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Bloomberg.

Kicking Back Comments:

Alright guys ... start the deflate-esque comments now =)

I think I am going to fly one of these for "educational" purposes for the next assessment I do.

An Open Letter to the GU16-1 South Shore League MTOC Team Coaches

Gentlemen,

During your match today at 4PM on Field #12 at Progin Park in Lancaster MA, I witnessed conduct so pathetic and barbaric from you both, I was compelled to write about it.

Let me start with a clear and unequivocal statement that I harbor no ill will against your team. There is no reason to involve them as they have earned the right to play and from today's result, will continue in the tournament.

My issue is with you both in bullying a seventeen year old girl about a decision she made. Bullying from a pair of late forty, early fifty men that was so persistent and so severe, it brought her to tears during and well after the match.

Bullying so grotesque it involved screaming by you, the lead coach, from the technical area and calling her decision "bull shit" and "what are you trying to do to us?" which persisted for several minuets with your arms raised as if a universal injustice was unfolding right before us.

It did not stop there however, until well after the match when you, the assistant coach, pulled her aside and told her "... I was a referee for 35 years and that was a serious decision you missed." Apparently the comment somehow was intended to have some weight to lessen the systemic bullying you heaped on this girl running the line in front of you, by saying something like "I've been there."

I find the premise pathetic, and if you really wanted to help you should have just walked away, or if you really felt compelled to say something like "I'm sorry I lost my head" or "I was a referee and know how hard it is. Thanks for all you are doing today" would have been fine thanks.

Please don't lower our craft by somehow thinking because you wore a referee badge at some time, you are obliged to offer free advise to any referee who strays from your vision of what should happen. Referees don't need that kind of help, from you, or anyone like you.

Referees, all referees, need coaching and support from those involved to allow them to learn the craft.  Now you may feel that is somehow unfair to your team which may have a legitimate opportunity to be crowned the "best team in the state." Let me tell you something, if you are so overwhelmed with that goal such that you are willing to bring a seventeen year old to tears, I would opine your priorities are tremendously out of whack ... and if you think a trophy makes you "champions" you have missed the point completely.

Consider the twist if I were to dissent to your team if they missed a play on the ball or made a wrong decision. Imagine if I shouted from the touchline "you suck #whatever, that was a shitty touch." Can you imagine the fallout if I continued my hypothetical pathetic tirade until she cried. But not to be deterred I had another person with me to say, "It's okay, you were really that bad and I used to play, so I know."

Of course it is not okay.

So why do you both think it is okay to do this to a seventeen year old girl who is serving the game as a referee??

A critical point you both have likely failed to consider is you have likely ended this referees career with your bullying. I can say this because I spoke to her for a while after and she has no real interest in coming back to get screamed at again. I don't blame her and I hope I am wrong, but at the very least, she will not be back tomorrow.

Over 50% of referees didn't come back after two years due largely to "above the game arrogance" like you both demonstrated today. If that was your goal, well done, you have likely succeeded.

In conclusion, I find your collective behavior boorish. For a forty or fifty something to berate a seventeen year old girl to tears and only stop when an adult was present for concern about "getting yelled at" as you stated when the field marshall approached, is a special kind of bully. I can only imagine what the parents of your players would think to see you bring that girl to tears.

I'm fairly certain it's not "what a role model our coaches are."

Buying a Nobel Peace Prize?

Let's go back together in the not so recent past where we experienced several very visceral incidents of blatant racism in The Game. One of the most memorable was regarding Dani Alves who had a brilliant response to having bananas thrown at him. You can see the article describing the whole matter here from CNN and here in Instagram.

FIFA frankly has a horrible record of doing something about this issue inside the field. Recall in 2011 where Sepp had stated that racism could be solved "with a handshake." While I agree with his critics that he is woefully out of touch on the issue and how serious and widespread it is, I also have to give him some credit for the idea.

It is a lesson Jr. and I were talking about just the other day when he came off the field angry at an opponent. I told him to let it go when you leave the pitch ... outside of that rectangle (please note Law 1 requires the field to be a rectangle, not square) it does not matter.

This is actually an ethos I live by in my soccer life. While it can be argued that I am narrow minded to think that by crossing the outside boundary of the field the world changes back to normal, it is a construct I have used for decades now to hold to the fact that The Game is a subset of life, not the other way around.

FIFA has done some excellent, good, bad, dumb, and really dumb things in an effort to try to stop these disgusting practices. While I will not go into them, examples are legion of the full spectrum of efforts. There are a couple that stand out though.

One such notable effort was the appointment of a FIFA EXCO member specifically tasked to combat racism. An excellent Executive level position to give the issue prominence. Jeffery Webb was appointed and gave a good speech in front of the 2013 FIFA congress. However he was recently indicted and dismissed from his positions.

Another effort is "racism monitors" throughout international matches and notably for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Even those however may not be up to the task as we have also seen recently. Now we have the "independent" group Kick It Out that seems to be gaining prominence in UEFA and is tenuously connected to FIFA, but my jury is still out on those guys while the goal is spot on some of the methods are a bit scary (e.g. calling for a referee to never work again who chose not to report an incident that he did not believe was racism or downloading an app from iTunes (here) to report such incidents).

As a final example, and a further note on Sepp's hubris, is the "handshake for peace" program that honestly really first caught my eye at the WWC. Again from above, a great concept albeit a bit too contrived from my taste, but with the backing of the Nobel Peace Center no less to give it gravitas. 

Only one catch, FIFA has been paying for the privilege (almost $1.3M per year since 2013) and it has been reported this is a crushing blow to Sepp personally as he saw himself as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. While it was well understood that Sepp's ego knew no bounds, I was unaware that one could "grease" the Nobel Committee with a paltry $1.2M/year. I would have thought that the Nobel Peace Center would choose a cause an organization like this, as fundamentally it would seem to be a worthy cause for such a group.

Ah when will I learn.

 

Like it, or else?

The Women Are A Cleansing Sorbet...

There's too much football. It's fine to admit it. It's utterly relentless, a bombardment of games and tournaments and friendlies, just when we thought the season was over. The FA Cup final was followed by the Champions League final after which came a couple of England games then the Copa America and oh sweet fancy Moses the European Under-21 Championships is about to start. You start to feel like Roberto Duran being smacked around, but with perpetual football rather than Sugar Ray Leonard's fists. No más, no más, no más. ...

See the whole article here from Football365.com.

Kicking Back Comments:

What a load of crap frankly. Just because people are not jumping up and down about the WWC does not mean they are bad people or don't like The Game, it just means they are not interested or may not be entertained. There was a great reply to this article here on Football365 itself and an even better comment to that article:

"...While I agree with Nick Miller on the England Women's team being refreshing to watch (it's so weird watching football without the diving and swearing at the ref) I'm going to make an appeal to the good writers at F365. Can the next article on women's football not be a hand wringing 'why are people so negative' one like Jonny Nic's was the other week. Can we please have a 16 conclusions, or a preview of the Norway game, or even a profile of a couple of the players. If you want people to take the women's game seriously - then lead the way by giving it some proper coverage. Like you do with the Spanish League for example. A regular weekly column by one of your fine writers would be a much bigger boost to the game then trying to tackle misogyny single handed. Plus I really want to know who's at no. 50 on a WWC ladder! Mike, League 2, BRFC"

Honestly too, if this was true, most of the world would be considered a misogynist as attendance has been heavily inflated (source it look like only 313,411-ish in actual attendance for all matches to date) and while the US and Canada matches are very well attended, it looks like few others are. A real question is why this is the case? Remember from earlier that Canada was the ONLY country to bid on the WWC. Let's face it WWC is just not a money maker in most places. 

It is interesting though. People are about to go to jail and alter their lives forever in trying to get a World Cup into a particular country ... yet only a single country bids on the WWC.

Lets face it folks, it's not about misogyny, it's about money, and there is sadly not much in the women's game today.

FIFA's New Card Game!!

FIFA scandal collector cards: Get the whole set!

(CNN) So many arrests and so many men wanted and then there's the resignation of the top boss -- FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

If you're struggling to keep up with who has done what in the FIFA scandal, you're not alone, but CNN is here to help.

In a nod to those games you loved playing with your friends at school, we've designed a set of FIFA scandal collector cards, containing the key data of just who has been charged, banned suspended, resigned or pled guilty.

Feel free to print them out and swap them with your friends. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of CNN.

Kicking Back Comments: 

OMG this is great!! Soon we may see a deck of playing cards with their likenesses on them. Yes, Sepp would be the ace of spades.

I'm betting he is sleeping with one eye open right now just waiting for the FBI or Swiss police to come crashing through the door.

Tick tock Sepp ... tick tock.

Thanks Dad

My Dad taught me many things.  Fortunately, the things he believed in and taught me stuck.  

He taught me to be accountable for my actions.  To admit when I messed up.  Even more importantly to apologize and try to make amends to those I harmed.

He taught me to be self sufficient.  If I wanted something done, I had better get off my duff and do it myself.

My Dad liked sports and encouraged me to play them.  He was teaching me through sports too.  I learned the simple truths of sport, where success or failure is so easily defined and measured.  Either I hit the ball or I don’t.  Excuses have no place here.

I learned when to stand up for myself.  I learned when it was time to fight, and when it was tactically better to back off.  I learned that sometimes it was important to get back up and stick my chin out even after I got knocked down.  

I learned about how to compete and what it takes to win.  And I learned how merely the act of stepping onto the field is a victory in and of itself.

I learned about balance.  I learned how to enjoy good food and spirits and still take care of my body.

I learned how to relate to different people and different cultures.  I learned empathy for their struggles.

The funny thing is that I cannot really remember my Dad sitting me down after my game to give me those lessons.  They just happened.  Somewhere along the line, I absorbed the wisdom of my Dad like the rays of the sun. 

Thank goodness that I had a Dad who liked and encouraged me to play sports.  I am guessing you did too or you would not be reading this.  Go thank your Dad.  

Add murder to the FIFA rapsheet?

The wife of an official murdered by masked gunman as he was about to expose fraud at the 2010 South Africa World Cup has told how the corruption-mired tournament killed her husband.

South African politician Jimmy Mohlala was gunned down as he got ready for church – the day before he was due in court to give evidence of a multimillion pound World Cup stadium construction fraud.

The dad of four – one of three politicians linked to exposing World Cup fraud who died in mysterious circumstances – uncovered forged building contracts at the £80million Mbombela stadium. ...

See the whole story here courtesy of Daily Mail.

Kicking Back Comments:

I was in fact pondering with a co-worker the other day when this shoe would drop (that someone was killed over a bribe). FIFA and its sponsors are turning a blind eye to the deaths in Qatar, so to think that there are other equally nefarious yet direct actors in my opinion, is unsurprising. 

The (FIFA) joke heard 'round the world

Question:

FIFA president Sepp Blatter, the director of communications, and the secretary general Jérôme Valcke are all sitting in a car. Who is driving?

Answer:

The police.

This was the joke uttered by the (former) Director if Communications for FIFA, who lost his job over the comment. I have to say though ... pretty funny.

Shades of 1994?

Women's World Cup: Nigeria's Njoku suspended three games for elbowing

A second-half substitute, Njoku was standing with her back to Kerr in the 76th minute of Australia's 2-0 win when she drove her right elbow into Kerr's face, knocking her to the turf. Kerr, who was originally thought to have a broken jaw, was attended to by trainers but finished the game. She is expected to play Tuesday against Sweden. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the LA Times.

Kicking Back Comments: 

A few thoughts on this one. (The match report is here.)

First, is for anyone who thinks the girls don't play as rough as the boys, think again. This was a vicious off the ball hit that could have seriously injured that player if it landed correctly. It reminded me of this classic from the 1994 World Cup which caused Tab to be out for some time.

Second, is this was behind the referee so she had no chance to see it. I do wonder what the 4th was doing at the time however as it was fairly close to the bench area. Yes, if the 4th had seen that, I would have expected the crew to take action in sending the player off. To me this includes a quick peek at the video monitors to get the info. Something this vicious needs to be dealt with.

Third, this is a great use of video review after the fact. Now for anyone who is paying attention you may look at my last point and say *hey* that is a form of video review. Well, color me a hypocrite, but yes it is of sorts. My distinction is in the first case the refereeing crew is using every tool available to them *at the time of the incident* to get to the correct conclusion. After all, how many times if we see a 50-50 ball that we look at players reaction to help make a decision? In the latter case we get some delay and a booth official involved and after a 5 minute delay we get a decision and off we go. It's all too NFL for me. So for my money as the entire crew missed it, the right result occurred after the fact.

I will be curious to see if any of this crew are appointed later in the tournament for missing such a serious foul.

A piece of what?

Pia Sundhage calls Hope Solo a 'piece of work'

WINNIPEG — Ahead of the World Cup clash between the United States and Sweden Friday, the New York Times published an interview with Pia Sundhage, who had sharp words for her former U.S. players.

The Swedish coach said when Carli Lloyd felt coaches had faith in her, she “could be one of the best players, but if she began to question that faith, she could be one of the worst.” Sundhage also said if she were still the U.S. coach, Abby Wambach would come off the bench, and added that Hope Solo was one of the most challenging players she’s ever coached, “especially when it comes to trouble.” ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of USA Today.

Kicking Back Comments:

Very tactical stuff from Pia frankly and while they may see each other again later in the tournament, this was an interesting little zinger prior to what is likely to be the top two teams from Group D.

Here too is something I am learning about life ... everyone loves a winner no matter how much of a bad actor they are. If they are successful, during that time, they are forgiven. Not saying it's fair ... but that's the way it is.

Please stop helping ...

... should be Hope Solo's words to her husband, Jerramy Stevens, after his recent comments.

In the article from USA Today, Stevens (who was popped for DUI driving a US Soccer team van, and in 2012 arrested, but not charged, for assault) defended his wife, who he was arrested for assaulting, by calling the whole thing a "witch hunt."

Photo Credit: The Simpsons

I may have found a better way to say that if I was referring to my wife, but I take his point.

He continued by going so far as to call those who would report or believe the matter regarding Solo, sexist, unpatriotic, and low class.

I'm serious, look at the article.

There is a point in time that one should put the shovel down and stop digging the hole they are in. I think Stevens is past that point.

It gets better however ... with an open letter from the Senate to US Soccer regarding their investigation, its lack or adequacy, and the "tone deaf" nature of it.

Yipes.

Well US Soccer was of course forced to respond, and Mr. Gulati was of course far more artful than Mr. Solo. You can see much of his response here.

Lets face it, while I am sure a cadre of lawyers were consulted on this, I suspect the intent was finding an escape clause to let Solo play as she is probably the best keeper on the planet earth right now.

This is concerning for a couple of reasons. First is that if it is true, US Soccer is putting winning above doing the right thing. Not unique for many such organizations, but in the face of what is going on right now with FIFA, the position is somewhat hypocritical on a smaller, but no less moralistic scale.

Second is that Senator Blumenthal has it part right that US Soccer is "tone deaf" on the issue. Yes, Solo has a right to due process, and yes, the criminal case is currently under appeal, and yes there is a vocal minority that is growing which want no part of Solo's antics any more.

I have to believe the "win-win" here is Solo helps the US win the WWC and retires right on the spot to resume her defense at home. Her criminal appeal is pending and prosecutor arguments due in mid-July with oral argument scheduled for September. Plenty of time to retire.

While I don't like that personally as it continues to reward bad behavior, it may be the best angle for the majority of the parties.

Stevens is right about one thing I think ... this whole thing is sexist. As from my own opinion and a plurality of commentators, if this was a member of the MNT who was suggested in a domestic violence case, I think they would be suspended in a heartbeat.

Yes, I think that because there is no stand out star on the MNT like Solo ... but also because of the sex of the actors in this case. I am all for equality, so long as everyone is treated equally.

It's a five year mission ... or is it?

Well here we are again friends. It has been a while, but not without some significant events unfolding before us.

So as not to get into too much, too fast, as tempted as I am, I wanted to address the beginnings of the Women's World Cup in Canada.

Back in 2011 I wrote about my genuine lack of interest in the WWC, awarding myself the "Media Pinhead Gold Medal" in jest all while receiving a few barbed emails from one of the other medal recipients who clearly had a funnybone-ectemy in their youth.

I find myself back in that same spot now, somewhat apathetic to the actual WWC play. Of course the run up was fun with the turf controversy (and Abby now an official spokesperson of Scotts), Hope Solo's epic meltdown, arrest, suspension, trial, subsequent dismissal on procedural grounds, and arrest reports which paint a not so flattering picture of the National Team keeper.

Let's face it, FIFA is not interested, as they have a few other things going on right now. In fact I would be surprised if Blatter or Valcke even went to Canada for fear of an arrest and extradition to the US. Oh by the way, FIFA fixed the tournament as well to maximize the gate too ... so they have a pretty good idea how it is going to all turn out anyway.

Local fans are not all that interested, as while the opening and USA matches were well attended (mostly by US fans), most of the other matches are not, and in fact are quite dismal. I am sure this makes FIFA very sad as they went to great lengths to make sure the matches were as competitive as they could be (see above for the source).

What is more scary though is the demographic that should be excited does not seem to be. Not that my daughter is a representative sample but she has no interest whatsoever about the tournament, and was not even aware. Same too with her team and even most of the parents. As the US progresses in the tournament I do expect this to change, but so far, a little scary.

Even the media is not interested as the coverage from most outlets has been "meh" at best and offensive at worst ... Stephen A. Smith, the gift that keeps on giving. ESPN would you please fire this clown?

Commentators have been pretty awful actually too. There are exceptions with J.P. Dellacamera, Tony DiCicco, Eric Wynalda, and Alexi Lalas, but beyond that it has been really awful with poor commentary and frankly some incorrect comments from folks who should know better. Their default banter is how the referee missed this or that, not filling with interesting facts about what is actually going on. Give me Foudy all day every day and twice on Sunday.

On a related note, FOX should take a page out of their NFL playbook and hire a referee analyst for decisions they want to discuss. Heck I'd bet you can get a bunch of quality folks to do this for a round trip to the World Cup in Canada. It would bring some sanity to a portion of the commentary.

So for my money a poorish start to the WWC with one exception that is Margaret Domka, our lone referee representative form the US, who had a good, albeit unchallenging first round match. It is unfortunate both US teams will not advance as far as the other.

FIFA Resists!?!?

FIFA resists video help for refs, then red-card issue in EPL

HOLYWOOD, Northern Ireland (AP) — Faced with soccer's "biggest decision ever," FIFA said on Saturday it would not be rushed into approving — or even testing — video technology to improve the accuracy of referees' decisions.

But an incident in the English Premier League then highlighted just why the English Football Association pushed FIFA to embrace technology beyond existing goal-line aids, at a meeting of the game's rule-makers on Saturday. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of USA Today.

Kicking Back Comments: My threshold comment is FIFA resisting doing anything is a good thing. While my tongue is clearly in my cheek I do happen to believe this. Now this article cites the recent ManU v. Sunderland match where there was a consensus that Wes Brown should have been, and ultimately was, sent off ... however not everyone saw it that way.

Listen folks, I hate to break to everyone but referees are fallible (my comment is not in reference to the ManU match) and video review, reading it in the most positive light, will correct those rare errors.

Now, the reality is I fear it will invite inappropriate meddling. While the NFL uses this to good effect, that game is designed for such reviews ... stop and go ... commercials and "chalkboard" analysis.

Our game has no such interruptions and can not and should not be held for a review of ANY type. It just invites too much of an interruption.

Of course I am nonplussed on the intrusion of the referee team ability to manage a match as well. Guess what ... cameras don't catch everything either and when someone is stepping up to take a penalty, we can't wait 5 minutes for a decision that may never come from a video review.

I'm glad FIFA is not rushing into a decision ... but would like it better if they dropped it all together.