The news that broke last month was that Carlos Cordeiro had decided to run for his old position, President of the US Soccer Federation. At the time, the country’s soccer fans responded the way you might expect, given the way Cordeiro had exited the position just two years ago. But over the last month, less and less is being voiced on social media regarding the disgraced former President of the federation. In fact, rather than a continuous cacophony of dissent against his campaign for re-election, we’ve begun to see a trickle of endorsements for the company man.

Carlos Cordeiro (image courtesy of Starsandstripesfc)

The largest voice endorsing Cordeiro so far is USASA President John Motta. In a recent interview in Soccer America, Motta was outspoken in his endorsement of the former president. "I respect what he says. He was the president. Somebody screwed up. It's his responsibility and he took the sword for everybody. That's honorable even though he had put people in place to make sure nothing slipped through the cracks and it slipped through the cracks." Aside from Motta’s glowing recommendation, there’s widespread rumors that the athlete council is prepared to back Cordeiro again. Their support was primary to his election in 2018, when he emerged from a crowded field of candidates with more widespread name recognition.

How We Got Here

Readers may not need a refresher as to why Cordeiro stepped down, but it wouldn’t hurt to review the facts. In 2020, the federation was in the midst of a nasty court battle with the USWNT players who were seeking equal pay with their male counterparts. In May of 2020, during the Shebelieves Cup, with the USWNT on display for the country’s soccer fans, court filings from the case were made public. At the time, Sarah Spain summed it up in an article for ESPN.com.

“The motion, filed in the hopes of earning a ruling before a scheduled jury trial begins in May, argued that the job of a men's player "carries more responsibility" than that of a women's player, that the men face more difficult work conditions because of the hostility of opposing fans on the road and at home, and that the men's and women's teams "do not perform equal work requiring equal skill [and] effort" because "the overall soccer-playing ability required to compete at the senior men's national team level is materially influenced by the level of certain physical attributes such as speed and strength." The USSF's counsel argued that pointing out the physical differences between men and women, from skeletal structure to lung capacity, isn't "a sexist stereotype," just "indisputable science."

“You read that right. The filing literally argues women are inherently inferior in an effort to prove the USSF isn't discriminating based on gender.”

I’d highly suggest reading that piece in its entirety, as it really captures the outrage and shock from that moment. In response to the public outcry, Cordeiro did what any smart suit would have done. First he apologized: “On behalf of U.S. Soccer, I sincerely apologize for the offense and pain caused by language in this week's court filing.” When that didn’t relieve the heat, he resigned without admitting any real wrong doing, claiming that he “did not have the opportunity to fully review the filing in its entirety before it was submitted, and I take responsibility for not doing so.” Some have said he took responsibility for the language. He did not. He took responsibility for not reviewing the filing. He went so far as to say that if he had been aware of the language, he would have “objected” to it. And with that, he rode off into the sunset (until now).

It seemed obvious to many that Cordeiro knew exactly what the tone and approach of the arguments being put forward by USSF legal council. Cordeiro is not an idiot, in fact, it’s safe to say he’s usually the smartest person in the room. The man holds two degrees from Harvard and was a partner at Goldman Sachs. He is a politician and tactician of the highest order and would have certainly been part of any discussion regarding the approach being taken by the legal team representing USSF in the lawsuit. He took a page out of corrupt politician 101: when faced with wrong doing, say you didn’t know about it and then run.

Cindy Cone Takes Center Stage

From a PR perspective, Cordeiro’s resignation was supposed to take the heat off the federation. His Vice President, Cindy Parlow Cone was installed into his former position and, as Motta stated last month, Cordeiro “took the sword for everybody.” Cone offered her perspective at the time, “It should be clear that while Carlos Cordeiro did not review or approve of the offensive language in the filing, by personally resigning he decided to put the best interest of US Soccer first.”

Cindy Parlow Cone (image courtesy of Fox Sports)

Cindy Cone swiftly installed a new law firm, Latham & Watkins, to lead the USSF’s defense (though the original firm, Seyfarth Shaw, remained a part of the team). She also made a statement at the time claiming that “Last week’s legal filing was an error. It resulted from a fundamental breakdown in our internal process that led to offensive assertions made by the Federation that do not represent our core values." She also asserted that “that language neither represents my position nor the view of the Federation.” Of course, this statement did not reflect a change in the Federation’s position on female athlete pay. In fact, the case was made aggressively (without the previous sexist language) that “the WNT are operationally distinct from the MNT, that they knowingly bargained for their current financial position, and the MNT have historically generated far more revenue for the federation.” Stephanie Yang’s article on Stars and Stripes FC is thorough and a great read. That USWNT equal pay case is still unsettled.

Interestingly enough, the original court filing language, which brought down Cordeiro and propelled Cone into the presidency, was drafted under the oversight of Cindy Parlow Cone herself. Cone was on a Litigation Committee created by Cordeiro, who’s task was “overseeing the lawsuit in conjunction with law firm Seyfarth & Shaw.” According to Grant Wahl, Cone said she “had not seen the strategy before its public release.” This raises a very obvious and glaring question, why would Cordeiro have to step down, but not Cindy Parlow Cone? According to both parties, neither read or were aware of the sexist language in the filing. So either both are guilty or both are innocent. And take it a step even further. Apply it to the entire Board of Directors, including MLS headman Don Garber: they were all guilty in the direction taken in the lawsuit, they should have all stepped down.

And Where We are Today

So now the Federation is on the cusp of another election, with two candidates with soiled hands, spotty track records, and the apparent support of the yes people that fill the Federation’s leadership. Both candidates have earned endorsements from important political players. Just last week, the U.S. Soccer Foundation announced that “based on our experience with both candidates, our 25-person board of directors unanimously endorse Cindy Cone.” With the election less than a month away, there will be more glowing words said about both of these potential presidents. But compared to the 2018 election, which was full of candidates with aggressive and interesting platforms, these two offer little for anyone outside of Soccer House to be excited about. And this election is a massive one, as the person chosen will spearhead the run to the 2026 World Cup, which the United States is hosting. It’s important. According to supporters of the “exiled” ex-President, the World Cup is why Cordeiro is needed. They believe he knows the power players, while Cindy Parlow Cone “stepped into the role of president a little bit over her head” (Motta in SA again).

And that importance seems to be lost on the vast majority of American soccer fans. Even in the lower leagues, where reform (or even outright destruction) of the Federation is a rallying cry, most fans seem resigned to a fate outside of their control. That’s IF fans are even talking about this, most are not.

The Federation is often seen as a black box, mysterious and beyond the understanding of the average soccer fan. To be fair, that characterization fittingly applies to myself at times. Who holds the power, how and when elections happen, most wouldn’t be able to tell you. While names like Gulati, Cordeiro, and Cone absorb a lot of the daylight, there’s a Board of Directors in charge of the Federation. At the last Board of Directors meeting in August (according to the USSF Meeting Minutes) these people were present: “Chris Ahrens, Lisa Baird, Lisa Carnoy, John Collins, Cindy Cone, Carlos Cordeiro (via Zoom), Don Garber (via Zoom), Patti Hart, Lori Lindsey (via Zoom), Richard Moeller (via Zoom), John Motta, Oguchi Onyewu (via Zoom), Bill Taylor, Tim Turney, Juan Uro, Dr. Pete Zopfi, and Will Wilson.” Some names are easily recognizable (Garber, Onyewu, Motta), some are less well known.

It may be shocking to some that Carlos Cordeiro was present at the Board meeting, considering his public resignation. In fact, Cordeiro has been present at EVERY Board of Directors meeting since his ouster over the last two years. This is because the previous President is allowed, even expected, to continue to attend Board meetings, regardless of how they exited the position. He may have stepped down from being the President of the Federation, but his influence and sway never exited the room where the power lies. I guess “falling on the sword” means not falling very far. It’s a game of musical chairs and the song started playing when people began paying attention. Everyone just took a new chair and kept doing what they’ve been doing all along, while the public went back to watching soccer.

What To Do?

The real issue is that the Federation has zero new ideas and has been that way for years. Leadership has calcified to the point that when big landmark issues arise, the first move is to circle the wagons and protect the power, rather than instituting real change. Criticism is ignored because the power players are insulated from real consequences.

Carlos Cordeiro is the perfect example of this. He oversaw misogyny and sexism against female players that are part of the Federation he was President of. There was a massive public outcry, so he stepped down, but never left the room and instead ran the clock out for two years, while his VP, Parlow Cone, kept his seat warm. And now he’s being endorsed for the role he left in disgrace in 2020. It should be obvious that any person or organization endorsing Cordeiro in this campaign clearly had no problems with the legal filing that ruffled so many feathers.

Clearly I can’t offer a glowing recommendation for Cordeiro, but what to say about the other candidate, Cindy Parlow Cone? Her track record is short on accomplishments so far, but she’s quick to point out COVID. “I feel like there is a lot left to do. I’ve spent my entire presidency in COVID, which everyone knows the challenges that presents, I think we have helped lead the federation in a new direction.” Not sure what new direction she’s referring to, but there’s lots of feel good statements about diversity that don’t appear to be materializing at the ground level. In a recent interview, she did admit that she hasn’t focused on the adult amateur side of the game. And the things that doom Cordeiro as a leader, a connected insider who pretended to apologize until the heat was off, apply to Cone as well. She was in the meetings, she was part of the administration, she’s literally no better on the lawsuit filing than the previous president and I’d challenge anyone to show me any real distinction.

The reality is that this is a battle between two super flawed candidates that have done little for American soccer, but plenty for the people who will cast the votes. And it has become more difficult for new candidates to make it onto the ballot. Chris Kessell, a noted advocate for reform, attempted to gather the necessary letters of nomination in the last election cycle. “As soon as Cindy Cone announced her candidacy, people who had previously told me that they were going to write the nomination letter…came back and told me they did not want to create an enemy and ‘everyone knows who is going to win now Cindy is the chosen one’ so they would no longer be doing so.” As Chris sums up the situation, “the general consensus among many outside of the inner circle of US Soccer is that winning candidates are selected more than people win election.”

For us, there’s little to be done between now and March 5. The two names are locked in place on the ballot and one of them will be elected that day. To be clear, the public has no say in the voting process, but these are the people who do (thanks to the Miami Herald): “The USSF Athletes Council gets one-third of the votes, and the Youth, Adult and Pro Councils receive 20% each, with the remaining delegates accounting for 6.7%. Voters include the members of the Athletes Council and board of directors, life members, delegates from USSF affiliates, adult and youth council administrative commissioners, delegates picked by individual sustaining members and the four past presidents: Alan Rothenberg, Bob Contiguglia, Sunil Gulati and Cordeiro.”

But not all is lost.

When Sunil Gulati stepped down, it was because of public outcry and a hounding press. When Carlos Cordeiro resigned, it was because of a loud public backlash and an interested and engaged soccer press. Voting is off the table for most of us and those that do have the vote are part of the problem, so here’s the alternate approach to reforming the Federation. Constant, unrelenting pressure from the public and the American soccer press for change. This article was written because of a social media post from For The Culture, it sparked my interest and I began digging into the story. How many other writers could do the same? How many other social media accounts could publicly reject the cronyism that dominates USSF currently?

The path to change is standing up and calling for change. It will not happen instantly, nor should we expect that, so patience will be key. But if we keep it up, we can pressure the Federation to produce better leadership, to be creative and considerate of the sport they serve, to open the doors to the diversity of this country in real ways, to distribute control to all instead of a tiny group of power brokers, to be better. We may not have a vote, but we have a voice.

- Dan Vaughn