Tag: Race

Visibility Matters: An Interview with Crystal Dunn

Posted on by RJ Allen

The Washington Spirit have had quite the year, dominating the 2016 league standings for most of the season. But in recent weeks, the team’s momentum appears to have slowed as the regular season winds down. This week Washington was looking for a victory against Chicago in order to lock up the league shield, which would have given them a strong finish to carry into their home-field semifinal coming up this Friday night.

But the Chicago Red Stars played spoiler on Saturday, winning the game and solidifying their place as the number three seed. Awarded to the team with best season record, the league shield was once firmly in the Spirit’s grasp, but the winner will now come down to whether or not the Portland Thorns draw or win over Sky Blue tonight.  Yet, despite the 3-1 result against Chicago, Crystal Dunn, one of Washington Spirit’s talented forwards, had a strong game, netting the team’s only goal, and helping to develop much of Washington’s offensive presses.

After the loss, Dunn took time to speak with Backline Soccer about the result, sharing thoughts on her change in play this year, as well as the upcoming playoffs and the unpredictability of the 2016 NWSL season. We also discussed recent headlines regarding Megan Rapinoe’s protest that started in Chicago a few weeks ago, and the importance of respecting people’s opinions while also respecting the right to protest. And we took up the issue of the particular pressures that athletes of color may carry in the sports they play.

Backline Soccer (BS): Tonight’s game had playoff implications for both teams. Can you share your thoughts on the game?

Crystal Dunn (CD): Yeah, it was a bit of a bummer. Obviously we stepped into this game wanting to win the shield. We wanted to come out and do really well so we could have that good momentum heading into the semis;  it didn’t go our way. I think we had our chances. We didn’t get into our rhythm until after being down 2-0, and unfortunately it’s tough coming back in this league from being down 2-0. So for us, I feel like the game was lost in the first fifteen minutes. We worked hard to get back in the rhythm of things, we did a good job of that, but it just didn’t go our way.

BS: You’ve had an interesting role on the Spirit this year. There has been a lot mentioned about your lack of goals this season, but your assist game is very strong. Do you feel any different having scored a couple goals now?

CD: You know I’ve played a different role this year. New coach. New system. I will say, it hasn’t been easy this year. Just because I’ve played in the nine [position], I’ve played the seven, I’ve played the eleven. It’s not like last year where I was just in one position and that was it. That was my position. That was my role. To just be in that one spot. Honestly, looking back, I’ve never had a season where I’ve had five assists and for me you have to take that for what it is. I don’t look at this year as a disappointment in any way. I look at it at as, “hey, I’ve never assisted so many goals in a season,” so it’s something to look forward to.

BS: As far as a season in general, the NWSL this year has been kind of unpredictable. Playoff opponents still up in the air, down to the wire, final week scenarios. Was prepping for tonight’s game perhaps a playoff preview?

CD: It’s been wild! I think for us we know that were hosting. And I think that is something to take the weight off of our shoulders. We know we have a good field, we know we play really well on our field and for our home fans. For us, tonight was obviously disappointing. But I think going into the semis I think we’re going to regroup and refocus.

BS:  It was a busy night in Chicago tonight. Many events, including tonight’s game. Chance the Rapper is on a huge tour right now. He planned a whole special event just for his hometown Chicago. In the event that this game wasn’t scheduled for Saturday, but instead on Sunday, would you have tried to find tickets to the concert?

CD: One hundred percent. YES! Absolutely.

BS: Quick follow up, who is the one teammate who would’ve been trying to scrounge up tickets with you?

CD: Teammate! It would definitely be Estelle Johnson. She’s freakin’ silly, and she’s all about getting into shenanigans with me. So for sure her. She’s my ride or die on the team.

BS: Chicago made some headlines the other week as well. Your national team teammate Megan Rapinoe took a knee during the anthem here in the game against the Red Stars. She extended that into the national team games. There has been a ton of discussion regarding this. Sometimes just discussing the form of protest, not the issues. Carli Lloyd has mentioned that there have been discussions with teammates about it. Did she ever talk to you about it? Or ask for advice?

CD: You know Pinoe [Megan Rapinoe] is a good friend of mine. We’ve had multiple conversations about it. I did share my views with her on the situation [form of protest]. I told her “look, as a black woman who is playing a sport that is majority white, I love that fact she’s trying to stand up for people’s rights. For something that’s so close to my heart.”  I just further expressed to her that, “No, I can’t be with you in NOT standing for the national anthem.”  Because for me it’s about the fact that people have given their lives for this country. Yes, a country that is NOT perfect. One that has LOTS of flaws. Trust me. I know. I have friends who have been victimized for just for being the way they are and looking the way the look. But to me, the flag and the national anthem doesn’t mean that this country is perfect, for me it means we want to hope for what this country is going to be, what this country could and should be. When I put my hand over my heart, it’s about closing my eyes and thinking about the people who’ve given their lives for me to be living in this world. Yes, it is not perfect and there are rights and methods to express the way you feel about those things. Ultimately, she [Rapinoe] said she understood exactly where I was coming from, and she told me she respected my opinion and she was going to continue doing what she’s been doing. We also have to respect that, I respect her for that and I would never, ever in my life tell her or anyone that you should not be doing this. We live in a country where we have freedom of expression, and I can’t take that away from her.

BS: Exactly, it’s literally a right. I myself have been pretty vocal on some of these issues at Backline Soccer. Whether it’s in my writing, or webcasts. Because I feel similarly–it’s her right to protest–but I also feel it’s necessary to have those types of conversations.

CD: Yes. One hundred percent. Absolutely.

BS: I’ve also mentioned, as you have here, the game is very Anglo. And there is a need to support women of color in this sport. Because at times there can be certain level of weight, or pressure on athletes of color in the game. Do you ever feel that kind of weight?

CD: For those who don’t know, I’ve grown up in a predominately white neighborhood. I’ve been around white people all my life. For me, it never bothered. It was what I was used to ever since I was 2 years old. It was like this is all I know. This is what I know. It really wasn’t until I got older, where I really started to take notice of my environments. I noticed “WOW. I am really, REALLY the only black girl on all of my teams, I’m the only black girl in all of my classes.” Even with me being on the national team, it’s funny, because in my conversations with Pinoe, we also talked about that, how there has maybe been about fourteen black women on the national team. In its history. Those things matter. Especially for me. I know we have a lot of mixed people on the national team. I think something people don’t understand is – that the way you look? It matters. For me? I’m a chocolate girl on the national team. You know, I’m not mixed, I’m not light skinned. I’m not any of that. So my experience on the team is completely different from someone who doesn’t look like me. I hold that very dear to my heart because I want people to know that when they see me on the national team, that they can look at me and still feel like they can make it to where you want to get in life. I don’t think that’s something everyone can understand. People don’t realize that. They might see a mixed girl and say “oh she’s mixed, she counts” and yes, absolutely the do. Mixed girls are technically black. But the reality is that if you don’t look like me? You will be treated differently.

BS: Experiences are different, even within certain racial groups.

CD:  And that’s the colorism that people don’t understand. That’s what ties into bigger things. Like the whole minorities and people of color being on the national stage. So yeah, I do sense a bit of pressure. But it’s not negative pressure. Every day I wake up and want to hold myself in the right way, and carry myself in the right way. To allow people to feel like “look, Crystal Dunn made it. I look like her. If she can make it.  Maybe I could make it too.”

Race and Class are Connected in Pay to Play

Posted on by RJ Allen

Pay to play is not a new concept in youth sports, especially soccer. Articles have been written, research has been done, and lectures have been given. The pay to play concept has bled into low-income neighborhoods and created a divide for players of color within US Soccer development programs. The problem isn’t merely that it exists—the problem is that this issue has essentially become somewhat of a long-standing tradition in youth soccer. It has become the norm throughout the United States.

WHAT IS “PAY TO PLAY,” AND WHY DO I HEAR SO MUCH ABOUT IT?

Pay to play can refer to many different fields and professional areas, like politics and business. However, pay to play is a phrase that has been commonly heard or used when referring to youth sports in general. It is the common belief that money must be exchanged for the potential access to the elite club leagues, which lead to potential college scouts, which lead to potential college scholarships, which lead to potential US development leagues, which lead to potentially playing at a national team level.

When you exchange money for goods and services, there is a sense of privilege in that. So why would we hear so much about something like that in something like youth soccer? We probably hear so much about it because it has become an evolving problem that was created by the very people who have claimed to love the sport. Soccer is the world’s most popular sport, and yet somehow, it does not truly “belong” to everyone here in the States. The playing field in youth soccer is no longer level, and it has not been for several years. How do we try and solve this problem at a grassroots level?

RACE AND LOW ECONOMIC STATUS ARE RELATED

To acknowledge the huge disadvantage that pay to play holds in youth soccer, one must also acknowledge the fact that race and low economic status are related in the United States.

Poverty is poverty and money issues can affect anyone in this country. There are average families struggling every day. No one is saying that there are NOT poor white people. What many are saying, though, is the numbers of low-income Black and Hispanic families ARE much higher. That also means they live in more under-developed areas, with fewer educational and athletic resources in their neighborhoods and communities, leading to far fewer opportunities in general.

A few years ago, the Working Poor Families Project released a policy brief that contained information and charts examining the relationship between race and ethnicity in poverty levels. They also charted the percentages of working families below 200% poverty by race and ethnicity.

2013 American Community Survey | Source: Working Families Project
2013 American Community Survey | Source: Working Families Project

 

With a constant pay to play system in place for youth soccer in the United States, this immediately sets a barrier between potential players of color and an elite soccer league or an Olympic Development program. Most families who enroll their kids in sports do so as a means of social interaction and activity. What happens when that child eventually develops and displays actual talent and skill? Where do they go to improve and enhance their skills, as the costs of youth soccer and its elite leagues rise?  For the non-white youth of this country, that opportunity shrinks every year.

 

There are youth development academies out there that are free with a “homegrown” player emphasis that can lead to opportunities for young players to someday play with the senior team. The Chicago Fire Developmental Academy is one. One of their main perks is that participation comes at no cost for its players, and it provides a door to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy League at the U-16 and U-18 level. It also hosts its training sessions in and around the Fire’s stadium, Toyota Park, which is located in Bridgeview (a suburb south of Chicago). It is one way to eliminate some of the parental noise that may come from pay to play teams, while giving low income families an opportunity for their child to be selected based on their talent. It is also extremely competitive and limited to 50 boys.

So why do the development academies in the women’s game have such heavy fees? When looking into academy fees for girls, one can check into the Portland Thorns FC, arguably the most popular team in National Women’s Soccer League. They have their academy information available online, like most NWSL academies, for families who are interested in having their daughters set on a path of potential. They outline a pyramid of potential for success through their academy that can lead to college opportunities, NWSL drafts, and maybe someday the United States senior national team.

The academy state fee was listed at $1,350 for the 2015/2016 season, after estimated travel costs for U16’s, the grand total rounded out to $4,515. The academy state fee is now $1,600 for the 2016/2017 season.

Portland Thorns FC Academy
Portland Thorns FC Academy

 

What families from low-economic backgrounds are able to fit an additional $4,500 into their already tight budgets? Of course these types of academies, camps, and various development leagues all offer some type of payment plan. They may also offer some kind of financial assistance in the form of scholarships on a case-by-case basis. In the event that a child is sponsored or offered a scholarship into these leagues and academies, what type of additional pressure do they carry into these development programs?

The constant pressure to succeed or immediately contribute to their teams could be considered unfair emotional and mental baggage for them. What happens when one of these teens are just having a bad day and don’t feel like practicing? The attitude of “you’re fortunate to be here” doesn’t leave much room for error or lax attitudes. It could also cause strife between “paying” parents and “non-paying” parents. After all, isn’t that why one pays to play? Paying for the privilege of having their child get access to the best coaching? And to get as much playing time and pitch time as possible?

 

WHAT COULD THIS MEAN FOR THE FUTURE OF U.S. SOCCER?

When one thinks about success in US soccer at a national level, one immediately thinks of the United States Women’s National Team. They have won multiple Olympics, FIFA World Cups, and other various international tournaments. Although the US Soccer Federation could continue to improve their relationship and support of the women’s game, the United States is one of the stronger federations when it comes to women’s soccer. The USWNT has grown in reputation for their ability in peak physical play and fitness, along with their fierce attitudes on the pitch.

USWNT

Just because it has been referenced and noted that we have outstandingly fit players and that other countries may not doesn’t mean the competition isn’t catching up. The inaugural She Believes Cup, an elite 4-team tournament hosted in the US, saw the USWNT face 3 top-five ranked teams. Each victory of theirs was closely contested—all with one-goal margins of victory. There were no 5+ goal wins, like we saw throughout their World Cup Victory Tour.

When you’re competing against other highly-ranked international teams, why should we sell ourselves short of creativity and depth from potential future players? The “American Style” brand of women’s soccer is to be bigger, more physical, and fit—to do enough to literally run the team off the field. What happens when other federations try to match that style? Does that leave room for creativity on or off the ball? Does it not hurt our future when these financial barriers are a constant issue?

The infrastructure of youth soccer in the U.S. has to be looked at from the bottom, at the grassroots level, in and around communities. However, that does not mean that there shouldn’t be accountability at the top. Administration and coaches have to look at themselves and the infrastructure and ask if this how they want to operate.

This country has prided itself on being the melting pot of the world. It is a problem when not everyone here has access to the world’s game. It completely contradicts the motto often heard throughout women’s soccer: “Grow the Game.”

For more content related to Race in WoSo, please check out our discussion here. We will continue to have these discussions and have a follow up to this Pay to Play article discussing Youth Soccer and Latin-American Bi-Culturalism.