MLS is continuing to block the Open Cup from going forward
The USSF has enabled MLS for too long
Just when you thought this issue was over and done, it isn't. This situation was created by Major League Soccer, along with the help from the head of the Players Union, Bob Foose, who interfered with the announcement for the first-round draw of the US Open Cup to remove themselves from the tournament in its entirety.
My colleague Michael Batista wrote a great article on Hudson River Blue about MLS holding the US Open Cup Hostage, and he is a thousand percent correct. Once again, the issue is toward the roster size for these games, and MLS is not budging to make room for their MLS Next PRo players to get spots to play in the Open Cup. Added to this is the revenue-sharing idea from MLS to have the advantage over USL Clubs in Open Cup matches by a 60/40 percentage. That is asinine.
https://hudsonriverblue.com/mls-said-to-be-holding-the-us-open-cup-hostage/
What has MLS done to get to this level? Simple. They have been allowed to do this by the US Soccer Federation during the Sunil Gulati years. That's why PRO Referees got started. That's why MLS Next was born. That's why SUM (Soccer United Marketing) began. To allow Major League Soccer to control everything soccer-related away from the US Soccer Federation. While the League is currently at a 3.0 to 4.0 level, it continues to operate at a 1.0 level.
That's why I have continued to say that Major League Soccer has been acting like three different bodies all rolled into one. They want to be a league, a federation, and a CONCACAF all at once. They believe they deserve all the money, and they don't want to share it with anyone else, not even with the federation/ Now that Lionel Messi is in MLS, the owners feel more empowered than ever before and think they can rule this sport with an iron fist.
But now, we are seeing changes within US Soccer. Right now, we saw them break away from SUM and make their deal to ink their National Teams broadcasts with Turner Sports. They also saw CBS Sports joining in on the US Open Cup broadcasts last year, as well as Telemundo joining in on Spanish Language coverage with the Hall of Famer Andres cAntor calling the Semi-Final match with FC Cincinnati hosting Inter Miami and the championship final. We have now seen changes where the President of the Federation has officially become a paid position.
As I have said, other professional sports leagues like MLB, NBA, and the NHL don't answer to their international federations. They don't have the power to do it. All the owners of each team in each league only have a say in what to do. USA Basketball didn't decide to have that in-game tournament; it was NBA Commissioner David Silver who created it, and not a single NBA Developmental League Team is a part of it. Sure, they can put out National Teams, but that's as far as it goes.
Why do you think the NFL is so strong? Because no one else can challenge them on their authority. That's why a long time ago, the American Football League challenged the National Football League to merge to be one League back in 1970, or the WHL tried to challenge the NHL and fell apart, but four teams joined the NHL in 1979 that were the Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques, Hartford Whalers and Winnipeg Jets. That's why MLS wants to push out the USL.
That's why MLS wants to do to US Soccer, and soon, they will try to do that to CONCACAF one day. The league has already forced CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani's hand by sanctioning the Leagues Cup into a legitimate tournament for three more spots and begged Liga MX clubs to join in on this disgrace. But here is another reason to be mad at MLS. They are not listening to you, the die-hard supporters. All of you who screamed in protest on social media about how terrible it was by MLS to opt out of the Open Cup was just a mouse squeaking from a distance.
And now they are challenging the union of our professional referees by locking them out before the season begins on Wednesday, February 21st, and interfering with the CONCACAF Champions Cup matches. US Soccer now has to consider making some serious decisions on what to do with Major League Soccer. The opt-out destroyed all the goodwill and all the positive feelings from the end of last year's Open Cup tournament. Cindy Parlow-Cone and J.T. Batson have every right to feel betrayed and can no longer play nice. They must use their governing powers to set an example and inform MLS this can not stand with a firm tone.
They must inform them that they won't take eight MLS teams; they won't take ten MLS teams. All twenty-six American MLS teams must be a part of the Open Cup or risk losing their sanctioning for both their leagues as a first division and the MLS Next Pro third division. They can't play nice anymore; they must play hardball right away.
The Hudson River Blue article that Daniel links gives much additional information about the undercurrents and backstory, such as:
- MLS is fearful about the USL closing the gap in skill and power
- U.S. Open Cup Committee kept out of the negotiations yet drawing "a line in the sand"
- NASL is also a villain in this saga.
- MLS Players' health is not what's at stake here; MLS just wants the US Open Cup to go away. Barring that, MLS wants the lion share of revenue yet starve the lower leagues of any media attention from the Cup.
This feels like a huge pivot point for the sport in the US. If MLS is allowed to just pull out and do what they want, it means they're ignoring league standards. What's next? Some effort to replace USSF entirely? There's no way that FIFA should let MLS run all over the sport without any repercussions.