San Jose forward Alan Gordon faces a suspension by Major League Soccer after he directed an antigay slur at an opponent during the Earthquakes' loss to the Portland Timbers on Sunday night.
Gordon and Portland midfielder Will Johnson exchanged words in the 60th minute at Jeld-Wen Field, after Gordon was fouled near midfield and Johnson stepped in to prevent him from quickly restarting play. Gordon's comment, garnished with an obscenity, was clearly visible on the NBC Sports Network's national television broadcast of the game. (Video here.) Apparently unnoticed by the referee, it was immediately picked up by Johnson, who flashed three fingers at Gordon and mouthed, "Three games."
Johnson should know. Seattle's Marc Burch directed the same slur at him during last season's playoffs, when Johnson played for Real Salt Lake, and Burch was promptly suspended for three games by Commissioner Don Garber. It was the second time last season that Garber had suspended a player for making an antigay comment; in March, he banned Houston's Colin Clark for three games for directing a similar comment at a ballboy during a game in Seattle.
Gordon can expect to miss at least as many games, if not more. When he suspended Burch, Garber said M.L.S. had a "zero-tolerance policy toward this type of behavior from its players or staff." And before this season the league enlisted some of its star players to film a public service announcement for an antidiscrimination campaign called Don't Cross the Line. In a twist, one of the players in the spot is Gordon's San Jose teammate Chris Wondolowski.
Gordon's comment was part of a forgettable night for him. He earned a yellow card in the 41st minute for a dangerous tackle on Diego Chara, and nine minutes after tangling with Johnson he received a second yellow for elbowing Portland's Mikael Silvestre in the mouth.
That left San Jose to finish with 10 men, allowing Johnson to get the last word when he curled in a free kick in the 78th minute to give the Timbers a 1-0 victory.
Less than 90 minutes after the game, Gordon apologized for his comment via the Earthquakes' Twitter feed:
"I sincerely apologize for what I said in our game tonight. Although I said it in the heat of the moment, that language has no place in our game. That is not my character, but there is still no excuse for saying what I said. I made a mistake and I accept full responsibility for my actions."
He will probably learn his punishment by the end of the day.
Corner kick: If you're wondering why Johnson keeps winding up on the receiving end of this, he probably is too. Johnson is married and fond of posting photos of his wife and infant daughter on his Twitter feed.
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