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Real Salt Lake owner Hansen takes leave of absence amid racism probe
LOS ANGELES, Aug 29, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen
will take a leave of absence as Major League soccer investigates allegations
he used racist language, the club said Friday.
Hansen, who also owns United Soccer League club Real Monarchs and the Utah
Royals of the National Women’s Soccer League, will step away from the
operations of all three clubs while the investigation is pending, Utah Soccer
said in a statement.
“As MLS and NWSL commence their investigations, Utah Soccer will ensure
full cooperation, including seeking to answer any questions the leagues may
have about the statements made by Mr Hansen regarding athlete boycotts and
allegations in a resulting article,” the statement said.
“As an organization, our priority is our employees, our teams, our
players, and our fans, and Mr Hansen in particular cares deeply for each of
these individuals who works so hard to make Utah Soccer the success that it
is.”
The allegations that Hansen made racist remarks surfaced in a report by
The Athletic on Thursday, which cited former Real Salt Lake scout Andy
Williams.
When that article was published, Hansen was already under fire for
comments he had made about Real Salt Lake players’ decision to sit out a game
on Wednesday in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.
Real and visiting Los Angeles FC decided not to play about an hour before
their scheduled kickoff, following the lead of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and
several Major League Baseball and MLS squads who sat down in protest of
police shootings of African-Americans, including that of Blake in Kenosha,
Wisconsin.
Five of six scheduled MLS matches on Wednesday were not played.
Hansen called the players’ actions a sign of “disrespect.”
“It’s like someone stabbed you and then you’re trying to figure out a way
to pull the knife out and move forward,” he said in comments to a Utah radio
station.
MLS commissioner Don Garber said he “strongly disagreed” with those
comments, and the MLS and NWSL said they would investigate the claims in The
Athletic article.
“Major League Soccer has zero tolerance for this type of language or
conduct and will immediately commence an investigation,” the MLS said, while
the NWSL said the allegations “run counter to everything the NWSL stands
for.”
BSS/AFP/SSS/0848 hrs