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Thanks to TSN for posting not just context but the entire Q & A between MLS Commissioner Don Garber and gathered media in Vancouver from which this memorable quote emerged:
#MLS Don Garber on favortisim. "No MLS club is provided an advantage over another club. In the past there was, we were building the league."
— Har Journalist (@HarJournalist) February 6, 2017
Say what? You rigged the league, Don? And you're telling us this thing we long suspected now because why?
Well, no. The MLS Commissioner is not saying the league is a sham competition.The fuller context of his answer was neatly transcribed by soccer site Away From The Numbers:
Been asked by a few people to explain what Garber said today about providing help to some #MLS clubs in the past. Here's the full answer... pic.twitter.com/NFzjFTP59e
— AFTN (@aftncanada) February 6, 2017
O.K.
So, in the very limited context of a helping financial hand to clubs seeking to boost their rosters with players who might raise the profile of the league, MLS was in the business of helping a particular club land a particular transfer target. And it isn't in that business any more, except that it is because the league is going to help Canadian clubs land Canadian Designated Players.
Got it, Don. MLS doesn't do that thing it used to do that it is still doing. Don't know how you could have made it any simpler.
It wasn't the only slightly puzzling pronouncement that sprang from the agile mind of the Commissioner.
When Garber says Canadians can't be domestic because of labour law, good to note NASL commissioner is lawyer who has experience in contracts
— Steven Sandor (@stevensandor) February 6, 2017
Another problem for the Garber labour-law argument: The NWSL allocates spots for especially for Canadian players (subsidized).
— Steven Sandor (@stevensandor) February 7, 2017
FACT: USL and NASL treat Canadians as domestics league wide. NWSL allocates spots for Canadians. MLS only league using labour-law argument
— Steven Sandor (@stevensandor) February 7, 2017
You never fail to make us think, Don.
Anyway, in its full context, Garber's "MLS was rigged but isn't any longer" comment clearly isn't that at all. Indeed, he has a shot at the argument that sharing the expense of some expensive players with some clubs isn't a competitive advantage - it's an incentive. An incentive for owners to put more money into the league.
Manifestly, Garber didn't think he was starting a conversation about opaque schemes to manipulate MLS. If anything, he thought he was ending it. And in their proper context, his comments neither challenge nor advance the claim that the league indulges in tilting its playing field to favor outcomes that benefit its commercial objectives over its obligation to principles of sport.
If you were inclined to think MLS is meddling with its competition, Garber didn't say much to change your mind. If you were inclined to think the league is just a sports venture like any other, doing no more or less than any other to stay solvent while honoring the game it serves - that is Garber's core message, always.
Take your pick. There is support in the Commissioner's latest comments for either point of view. (He offers an interesting insight into the league's refereeing and disciplinary standards around the 18:25 mark of the recording supplied by TSN.)