KANSAS CITY, Kan. — American midfielder Tyler Adams said receiving online racial abuse has become commonplace for players. Teammates Chris Richards and Folarin Balogun said they were targeted for racial abuse, and the U.
S. Soccer Federation issued a statement after Thursday's 2-1 loss to Panama in the Copa America saying that it was “deeply disturbed.” “For me personally, I don’t really know where to even begin on the topic,” Adams said during a news conference Saturday.
“It’s normal at this point — it’s normal. I don’t think anyone could play a bad game, let alone a good game, and not have something on social media afterwards. So for me personally, I don’t even use social media — not for that specific reason, but just for the fact that it’s just toxic everywhere, no matter where you look.
” Adams, who is Black, was the U.S. captain at the 2022 World Cup.
“It’s disappointing when players on our team obviously have faced that, Canadian players, whoever it is, it’s just so unnecessary and unneeded in the space of football because football brings so many positive moments for everybody," Adams said. "Everybody loves the game for so many different reasons. And the fact that we’ve allowed this to creep into to the game, it’s just horrible.
” The U.S. plays Uruguay on Monday in its first-round finale.
Uruguay leads Group C with six points, followed by the U.S. and Panama with three each and Bolivia with none.
Goalkeeper Matt Turner participate.