Real Salt Lake owner on team's decision to boycott MLS game: 'It’s a moment of sadness'
Dell Loy Hansen: 'It’s like somebody stabbed you and you’re trying to figure out a way to pull the knife out and move forward'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen wasn’t happy when his team decided not to play against the Los Angeles Galaxy in an MLS game on Wednesday night.
Hansen talked about his feelings on X96, which he also owns, on Thursday.
"It’s a moment of sadness," Hansen said on the "Radio From Hell" program. "It’s like somebody stabbed you and you’re trying to figure out a way to pull the knife out and move forward. That’s what it feels like. The disrespect was profound to me personally."
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Six games were on the MLS schedule on Wednesday, five of them were postponed following the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks’ decision to boycott their playoff game against the Orlando Magic, and other pro sports teams followed suit.
Hansen disagreed with the players’ decision to not play, but he talked about how it has discouraged him from investing his money into the team.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It’s taking a lot of wind out of my sails, what effort I want to put into recruiting players, and building a great team," Hansen said. "It just seems that’s not a great path for me to take."
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Toronto FC’s Jozy Altidore, a star on the United States men’s national team, fired back at the owner on Twitter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“He needs to sell the team then. I’m involved in a group that’s ready to purchase it. Time for change,” Altidore wrote.
Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell also shared his thoughts on the social media site by saying, “WOW... if it’s taken 'the wind' out then sell the team... I stand with @realsaltlake players.”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Even though Hansen disagreed with his team’s decision to not play, both Major League Soccer and the MLS Players Association were in support of the decision to boycott and not play any matches on Wednesday.
“Some things are far more important than sports,” the joint statement read. “Change must happen and athletes are committed to leading the way.”