Inter Miami wins, says D.C. United player used racial slur on team bus
The D.C. United players who spoke out against their team’s treatment of African Americans were told this week that the team would have to pay the legal costs of the six players — seven if they count midfielder Ethan White — who came forward to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that the team’s actions were racist.
United has since released a statement in which the team said that they support the players who chose this route, which would give the players an opportunity for their lawsuit against the team to be heard by a judge.
“The team believes that the D.C. District Court has the authority to consider an action on this matter independent of the legal process with which the players have chosen to challenge the team.”
The players allege that the team’s treatment of African Americans and other minorities has become such a problem that coaches have had to be given special training to ensure they don’t abuse them.
As for this week’s statement from United, it said in part:
“We acknowledge that a lawsuit against D.C. United by Ethan White, a former member of our team, was filed in court today…. We fully support Mr. White’s decision to pursue legal action, and wish to make clear that his claims of racial discrimination by the club are completely unacceptable.”
As for why these issues came to a head at one of the nation’s most storied clubs, it’s likely that it has everything to do with the fact that D.C. United had hired and then fired two of the club’s best players, the two who are believed to have been the driving force behind the players who spoke up: midfielder Jack Ridley, who was named MLS Humanitarian of the Year in his first season in the league, and defender Dwayne DeRosario, who was named to MLS’ Best XI.
DeRosario, a former Canadian international, chose not to return to MLS in 2011, when he was named captain of the U.S. national team.
He came back to D.C. United in 2012 to play the final four matches of the regular season,
