The World Cup is, conceptually, a joyful occasion for all nations to come together to celebrate the most popular sport in the world. However, geopolitical tensions don't just evaporate the moment the first whistle blows, and some friction may sneak through—especially since it's a good time to make statements, given the whole world is watching. This seems to be the driving force behind the question U.S. soccer player Tyler Adams was asked by an Iranian reporter during a press conference.
When the World Cup matches were drawn, Iran and the U.S. were placed in the same group, bounding them to play against each other during the first stage of the tournament. Iran itself has been ridden with controversies, such as the plenty of protests by fans regarding the death of Mahsa Amini, or the Iranian players seemingly refusing to sing their national anthem, which resulted in the government threatening their families. However, a new rift was opened when the United States Soccer Federation displayed the Iranian flag without the Iranian Republic emblem—essentially supporting protestors—on social media.
While there has historically been tension between the U.S. and Iran, this could have pushed Iranian reporters—present at the U.S. team press conference, as they were set to play the Iranian team—to ask some loaded questions spotlighting things other than soccer. After first reprimanding U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams for not pronouncing the name of his country correctly, an unnamed Iranian reporter asks him if he's ok to be representing a country “that has so much discrimination against Black people in its own borders,” even bringing up the Black Lives Matter movement.
However, the question could not have fallen on more graceful ears than Adams'. Despite being only 23 years old, he's had had plenty of experience, which even landed him the U.S. team captain badge. After apologizing for his mispronunciation, Adam said: “There’s discrimination everywhere you go. One thing that I’ve learned, especially from living abroad in the past years and having to fit in in different cultures and kind of assimilate into different cultures, is that in the U.S, we’re continuing to make progress every single day.”
Adams, who plays in the Leeds United of England's Premier League, has spoken at length about being raised in a white family, and mentioned his upbringing to further his point: “Growing up for me, I grew up in a white family, and with obviously an African-American heritage and background as well. So, I had a little bit of different cultures, and I was very easily able to assimilate in different cultures.”
The player rounded his idea by saying that grappling with this may not be simple, but that there is hope. “Not everyone has that ease and the ability to do that,” he explained, “and obviously, it takes longer to understand, and through education, I think it’s super important. Like you just educated me now on the pronunciation of your country. So, yeah, it’s a process. I think as long as you see progress, that’s the most important thing.”
U.S. Soccer player Tyler Adams handled a loaded question from an Iranian reporter gracefully at the World Cup.
You can watch his response below:
Tyler Adams: Instagram
h/t: [Upworthy]
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