Comments on: Villains, for a moment | New York Times’ Fugee tale exposes soccer-challenged Southerners to public ire

By: Jack Jones

Jack Jones — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:23:20 +0000

I am just catching wind of this for the first time, but it’s always interesting to see just what kind of convoluted picture can be painted by some journalists.

By: Bob Patton

Bob Patton — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:01:22 +0000

I just watched Luma and her group on CBS-TV here in LA.

What a wonderful and inspirational story.

I am a retired teacher here in LA and was thrilled to see these young men with manners, motivation and the fact that they were fluent in English.

Maybe those in LA who circumvent the language may want to stand up and take notice.

Kudos to coach Mufleh and her mission!

By: The Global Game | Media | What’s that echo? Gary Smith, on the Fugees

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:31:56 +0000

[...] Long-form Sports Illustrated writer Gary Smith again has applied his odd epistemology to soccer (“Alive and Kicking,” Jun 23). In 8,000 words, he writes passionately in his familiar mode of author-vacated all-knowing about the Fugees of Clarkston, Georgia—ground already well plowed by Warren St. John of the New York Times (see 25 Jan 07). [...]

By: elizabeth chavez

elizabeth chavez — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 21:45:19 +0000

I read the NYT article, and I think it is not possible that in this century we can find bans on soccer. The United States is a land formed by immigrants; their history comes from Europe. In England football was invented, so why you do not like this sport and why you do not let the boys practice it? God left the land for everyone, not just for a group that thinks that it is the owner of everything on Earth. I think Mayor Swaney should buy a piece of land and give it to the Fugees to play on it.

By: Callie

Callie — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 07:23:21 +0000

I totally understand the need and expense of maintaining baseball-only fields. The real problem is that there are not enough places for people in general (not just kids) to get out and be active. Instead we pour concrete and put up more high rises and shopping malls. Really, it’s no wonder that kids today rely on video games and television for entertainment. There’s hardly anywhere for them to go and have fun and be kids without some sign telling them they can’t run, or some fence telling them they can’t go on the only grassy area for five miles.

And I hope karma catches up to the NYT article writer for falsifying the info. Ugh.

By: patrick

patrick — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 15:38:20 +0000

Let's make sure we're actually reading the post. I'm also a Clarkston resident, and I saw the New York Times article and it did not smell right to me. This weekend I had dinner with friends of mine, father and son, immigrants who live near the police station in Clarkston and who are always plugged into town news. My friend is a journalist and educator and had firsthand knowledge of the story's details and characters from the beginning. He assured me that the NYT story was a complete fabrication, and this post confirms in some detail much of what he told me about it. Here is a summary of relevant facts:

Clarkston has a baseball-only park. The same is true of Decatur, Atlanta and I daresay the rest of the country. This has nothing to do with bigotry; it has everything to do with the expense of maintaining Little League Baseball fields.
Clarkston has another park with soccer fields. The Fugees practice there now, have been allowed to practice there for some time and will continue to practice there for the foreseeable future.
The fields in both parks are for youth-league use only, not for adults. There is a very large soccer-only park not five miles north of Clarkston (Henderson Park) where adults can play soccer to their hearts' content.

The NYT reporter substituted a run-in with adults using the soccer fields without permission for a showdown with immigrant children which, coincidentally, is a much better sell to Hollywood. I hear the final price for the story was around three million dollars. So who's exploiting whom here?

By: Clarkston Resident

Clarkston Resident — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 04:33:14 +0000

It’s not just soccer that the mayor doesn’t like. Prominently posted at the entrances to Milam Park are signs warning of a $500 violation for having dogs [at the park]. Throughout its history Clarkston has been led by people with an astonishing lack of vision. Clarkston leaders have always treated the immigrant community as a problem to be dealt with rather than embracing the cultural diversity they bring.

By: DG

DG — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 05:22:43 +0000

Publications like the New York Times will always use the stereotypes of Southern culture as a way to prop up its own inflated self-image of progressive, empathetic thinking. Ironically, the reality is that if you go a couple of miles away from where the New York Times is published, into the outer boroughs or New Jersey, for example, you'll find a throng of working-class, "Joey-bag-o’-donuts" types, who use expilicit racial epithets (or any Italian variant) at a clip that would make most Southerners wince in pain. I guess the real problem is that the racists that most certainly exist near where the Times is published are so boorish and plain as to not make good copy. Southern racists, even made-up ones, just sell papers better than their Northern counterparts.

By: David Keyes

David Keyes — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 14:48:03 +0000

Fantastic post. The NY Times did feel a bit too much like a Disney movie, with convenient sides of good and evil easily compartmentalized. I’m glad to hear that the true story is a bit more messy than that. The reality may not make as good a movie, but it does bring me hope for the future of soccer in this country.