To State Association Presidents, CEO/EDs and the US Youth Soccer Board of Directors,

 

We have had several incidents of players using racial slurs towards other players at our Presidents Cup Regional Championships. While each incident has been taken care of by our staff on-site, Skip and I want to reiterate the position of US Youth Soccer regarding this behavior.

 

US Youth Soccer takes allegations of racial discrimination seriously and we are committed to maintaining a safe and inclusive environment across our entire association. We have a zero-tolerance policy against using racial slurs, and we strongly condemn any form of racism, hatred, intolerance, inequity and violence.

 

We request that each of you address this issue with your members, players and fans, to ensure that every member of the US Youth Soccer Family knows and understands the US Youth Soccer position and policies regarding this matter. Please share this notice with them prior to and during their participation at our Regional and National events.

 

We empathize with any player that experiences racial prejudice but we also cannot condone an athlete taking matters into their own hands. Please encourage anyone that experience or witness discriminatory behavior to immediately report the incident to the match officials and the US Youth Soccer on-site staff.

 

US Youth Soccer will continue to uphold the values of integrity, equality, and fairness within the sport and we again, ask you to encourage all members of the US Youth Soccer Family to understand, accept and respect each other.

 

Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Skip or myself.

 

Respectfully,

 

Dr. Pete Zopfi

Chair

 

Skip Gilbert

Chief Executive Officer