Edward Harness

Well expressed: “Two things can be true at the same time, and so it is reasonable—perhaps even natural—for United States men's national team fans to feel that what happened to striker Folarin Balogun and the lifting of his one-game ban is both amazing (for the Americans) and awful (for the sport). “These do not have to be binary states. You can think that Balogun didn't deserve a red card in the first place. But even if you feel that way, you can also recognize that so much about this situation just stinks. There was back-channeling done. Balogun's sudden amnesty adds to the perception of favoritism—a perception that also cuts, fairly or unfairly, at what the U.S. team might still yet accomplish.” espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/4…