A Little Beacon Blog

View Original

World Watches Tyler Adams Answer Tough But Honest Question In Qatar World Cup

Katie Hellmuth

In the months between Dutchess County sending out a simple press release featuring the leadership of Wappinger’s Fall’s own Tyler Adams as captain of the USA soccer team in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar this year (2022), the world was watching as he answered a tough question about discrimination against Black Americans by America, and a pronunciation correction of Iran from an Iranian reporter before the USA vs Iran match on November 29, 2022.

While many in Beacon were just hearing about this person named Tyler who is from Wappingers Falls and in the World Cup, suddenly he was on CNN and other media outlets regarding the tough question scenario.

The situation presented an opportunity for Tyler to talk about his own experience growing up with a mixed-race heritage, as well as his living in different countries because of soccer, and his awareness of how he navigated through living abroad and state-side (this might be known as codeswitching, but Tyler did not use that word).

Local articles here in Dutchess County have not typically addressed his mixed-race experience, but this global media situation presented a new opportunity to include it.

CNN, Yahoo Life and other American media outlets picked up on the press conference prior to the match, and in defense of and praise for Tyler, peppered it with negative light on the Iranian reporter. Tyler, however, graciously answered the statement and question with honesty and respect for the reporter.

The linguistic observation made by the reporter was cited so that a global audience could hear the correct pronunciation, followed by a discomfortable question.

Global events are platforms for dialogue to begin. This article explores this issue.

Who Is Tyler Adams?

Tyler Adams during the press conference before the USA vs Iran match.

Tyler Adams is currently 23 years old and plays professional soccer for the Premier League Club, Leeds United, and is the captain for the United States national team, who played in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

At age 16, his first professional signing happened with the New York Red Bulls II, a United Soccer League Team owned and operated by Major League Soccer. Said Tyler to the Poughkeepsie Journal back in 2015 when he was signed: “They host these mini-camp type things," Adams said of the Red Bull’s Regional Development School. "They noticed me there. It's what started this all. I think it benefited me because it's a lot more competitive."

You can see the opportunity for summer soccer camp with the Red Bulls in ALBB’s Summer Camp Guide.

As reported by the Poughkeepsie Journal, Tyler was attending Roy C. Ketcham High School in the Wappingers Falls school district when he signed. According to USASoccer.com, Tyler was raised by his mother, Melissa Russo, where he “grew up in a single-parent household before she reconnected with old high school classmate and now step-dad, Darryl Sullivan.”

According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, Tyler’s step-dad Darryl was at the time of Tyler’s 2015 signing “a Social Studies teacher at Roy C. Ketcham, who won two state titles coaching the John Jay girls team and is the director of soccer operations for the Marist College men's soccer team.”

Said his mother, Melissa Russo, to the newspaper upon his signing: "There was a point as a parent where you tell him it may not be realistic. But never did he say he wanted to do anything else. Maybe an architect, once or twice. As a parent, this is awesome. You just pray your kid ends up doing something they love."

To complete Tyler’s education while he advanced toward professional soccer, he ended up doing what most parents now know of as Remote Learning, by completing most of his homework and classwork online. He told the Poughkeepsie Journal: “I'm missing the social aspect, which is hard for any kid my age. But then again, I have the opportunity to play pro soccer. That doesn't come around every day."

Turns out, Tyler nurtured his social side while playing soccer, as explored in this ESPN article, where Tyler discussed, as a 23 year old, how he enjoys relating to other people no matter their relationship to him, which is part of why he has been such an effective captain during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

As observed in the ESPN article: “Some might call it charisma, others would term it leadership or emotional intelligence, but the sense is that ‘it’ goes deeper than any of that. There is an aura about Adams that conveys he'll not only do his job, but relieve you of some of the pressure to do yours. These days, that can mean covering for a teammate on the field or deftly handling some spicy news conference questions off it.”

What Happened At The News Conference Before The USA vs Iran Match?

An Iranian reporter corrected Tyler in his pronunciation of Iran, stating that if he was going to voice support for Iran, he might as well get the pronunciation right. This was followed by a question about discrimination toward Black people in America. As of this reporting, ALBB cannot find the name of the reporter, who may or may not have been affiliated with Iranian government sanctioned state media.

According to an article at CNN, Iranian state media was upset with the United States Soccer Federation. American media seems not to have reported the Iranian reporter’s name or media outlet, that ALBB can find so far. That would be helpful and relevant to the context and tone of the question.

To add more context, the 2022 World Cup as a global platform has been used to amplify many issues, including the current violent protests going on in Iran against the regime that came to power in 1979. These protests have been carried out in defense and protection of women in Iran after Mahsa Amini, age 22 and Kurdish, which is a minority in Iran, died in police custody. The protests are against oppression that many citizens of Iran feel under the current leadership, which has been abusing and misusing a religion - Islam - in the name of squeezing power.

In response, the United States Soccer Federation changed Iran’s flag on its social media platforms to show support for protesters in Iran, according to a report from CNN. "Iranian state media called for the US to be kicked out of the 2022 World Cup after the United States Soccer Federation changed Iran’s flag on its social media platforms to show support for protesters in Iran." According to the article which showed a screenshot of the temporary switch, the United States Soccer Federation started displaying Iran’s national flag on its official Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts without the emblem of the Islamic Republic in the middle of the flag. The flag version with the emblem is currently being displayed on the soccer federation’s website.

Reporter’s Statement:
In response to one of Tyler’s earlier answers to a question:

"First of all, you say you support the Iranian people, but you're pronouncing our country's name wrong. Our country is named Iran (ee-RAHN), not Iran (EYE-ran). Please once and for all, let's get this clear."

Reporter’s Question:

"Second of all, are you OK to be representing a country that has so much discrimination against Black people in its own borders? We saw the Black Lives Matter movement over the past few years. Are you OK to be representing the US while there is so much discrimination against Black people in America?"

Tyler’s Answer:

“My apologies on the mispronunciation of your country. That being said, there’s discrimination everywhere you go.” Tyler stated.

“One thing that I’ve learned, especially from living abroad in the past years and having to fit in in different cultures and kind of assimilate into different cultures, is that in the US, we’re continuing to make progress every single day.

“Growing up for me, I grew up in a White family, and with obviously an African-American heritage and background as well,” he pointed out.

“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 obviously, it takes longer to understand, and through education, I think it’s super important.” Tyler did not deny discrimination happening. Instead, he elected to describe a living experience for him.

“Like you just educated me now on the pronunciation of your country. So, yeah, it’s a process. I think as long as you see progress, that’s the most important thing.”

How Some American Media Twisted The Press Conference

As media coverage of any event or issue unfolds, it is important to be mindful of the headlines, descriptions, and adjectives used to describe a situation. Every single media outlet is biased because humans write, edit and ultimately publish the words. Scrubbing of opinion is nearly impossible, because simply choosing to cover a topic in an of itself reveals bias.

Coverage of Middle Eastern situations is especially important to be mindful of when reading or watching coverage.

Here is how American media negatively slanted the situation, negatively portraying the reporter, and positively portraying Tyler. Of course Tyler’s answer was impressive and refreshing, but the reporter need not be shamed into asking it, or correcting the pronunciation of Iran knowing his voice would be heard around the world, for everyone to hear and know how to correctly pronounce Iran.

Great reads and headlines: