USMNT’s Tyler Adams Expertly Handles Iranian Reporter’s Loaded Question About Racism

You don’t have to be an expert in American politics to know it’s a bit hard to find a common cause the vast majority of people in the United States are willing to rally around (especially at a time when the current social landscape can be politely described as “dangerously divided”).

As a result, there’s something fairly refreshing about events like the Olympic Games and the World Cup that give people across the country an excuse to briefly put their differences aside in the name of patriotism by rooting for the athletes representing the Stars and Stripes while competing for bragging rights on the international stage.

Those gatherings are far from a cure for everything that ails America, but there’s something to be said for their ability to put the “United” in “United States”—a reality that was perfectly highlighted when the U.S.A. and England reignited a rivalry stretching back to the 1770s during last week’s showdown in Qatar.

Most Americans have a fairly complex relationship with a country they’d likely admit is far from perfect, but you have to admire the army of fans who nonetheless defended its honor from the many English supporters who attempted to use various cultural and historical shortcomings as ammunition in the war of words the contest spawned.

The coach of the Iranian national team deployed a similar tactic by taking aim at the school shootings that have become a tragically common occurrence in America, which came after the United States Soccer Federation stirred up a bit of controversy by removing the Islamic Republic symbol from Iran’s flag in a social media post calling attention to its government’s recent crackdown on protestors calling for women’s rights.

This burgeoning feud is essentially a debate over which country has perpetrated the most institutional malevolence, and I’d argue anyone who attempts to win that argument has already lost by virtue of engaging in it in the first place.

However, that didn’t stop one Iranian reporter from attempting to lure USMNT midfielder Tyler Adams into the fray with a wildly loaded question about representing a country with a civil rights track record that leaves plenty to be desired as an African-American athlete.

Adams handled that query about as well as he could, as he delivered a thoughtful response by saying:

“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—is that in the U.S., we’re continuing to make progress every single day. 

I grew up in a white family with, obviously, 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.

Not everyone has that ease and the ability to do that, and it takes longer to understand…It’s a process. As long as you see progress, that’s the most important thing.”

The United States and Iran will have the chance to settle their differences on the soccer pitch on Tuesday.