Where Are the Answers?
It has been a week since the pressure got so high that Carlos Cordeiro released a statement apologizing for what new President Cindy Parlow Cone now calls “errors” in the legal brief filed in the USWNT case. The next day Cordeiro resigned effective immediately, and we are still nowhere closer to getting answers. Who knew what, when?
In her recent article for The Athletic, Meg Linehan points out that, “In her [Cindy Parlow Cone] statement, she called them an “error,” but again, they were only a conclusion of months of legal strategy that can be traced back to December 2019 depositions of USWNT players.”
The US Soccer Board of Directors includes 15 positions. Currently due to the Vice Presidential vacancy there are 14 filled positions. We have only heard from a handful of Board Members, and nothing we have seen so far answers: who knew what, when?
This is the time the public needs a demonstration that things are going to change. We need to SEE change in ACTION. I have requested information on media availability for Cindy Parlow Cone and the rest of the US Soccer Board, and I still have received no response from the Federation.
Cindy Parlow Cone’s supporters, close friends, and allies continue to celebrate her ascension to the Presidency of US Soccer. Cordeiro needed to step aside. It was clear he was not able to lead US Soccer well. It is time for Cone to demonstrate she is ready, able, and committed to do what her predecessors have failed to do: lead and unite American soccer in a way that is inclusive and where opportunity is accessible for all based on merit.
Anson Dorrance, in an interview with Soccer America, said, “She’ll [Cindy Parlow Cone] be impossible to manipulate because these people who want to take over, the different ways they can exploit U.S. Soccer through marketing deals and everything else, won’t be able to promise her a position they know she won’t want. Or promise her an extended stay at the top, because they’ll also discover she doesn’t want that either.”
He went on to say, “She’s going to be in these wonderful positions that are uncompromisable because of who she is. From that perspective, I love the opportunity she has.” Time will tell if he’s right, and we are all watching and waiting for answers. Will they come anytime soon? US Soccer’s track record says no, and this is one area Cone can begin to change the culture within the Federation.
In the meantime, we must continue to ask: who knew what, when?
