Not just that, he risked his teammates availability for club and country. The delta variant is ripping through Tennesse like wildfire. They actually hit their all time high for hospitalization - higher than the bad winter spike. Yes vaccination is hugely protective but it’s not perfect. Just ask Pulisic and Steffen. So it’s not just the breaking of rules, it’s putting your teammates at risk
The truth of the matter is McKennie might be finished at Juve. He's no where close to a good enough player to do this stuff AND get away with it. If he was a top starter there, they'd probably let it slide or give him a slap on the wrist. Hopefully he can at least train or something to stay somewhat fit. Not having him play at all until the January window would be a killer for the US.
That's it in a nutshell. It is not farfetched to say he may never play for Berhalter again. Of course Berhalter may not coach after tomorrow.
I'm very curious what "the group has moved on" means bc if it's "from McKennie" he may just be done with the usmnt. Edit: this is hopeful: Berhalter said:- Weston isn't ruled out for the future- Weston apologized to Berhalter and to the team.- He also said Weston made a mistake and these things happen to teams#USMNT— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) September 7, 2021
For life? No way. But I would not be shocked if he's done until 2022. That seems fair --especially if he's not playing club matches.
Berhalter on whether Weston has a #USMNT future. "Of course... We had a long conversation... he's a guy I care for deeply."— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) September 7, 2021
Berhalter is the type of manager I love to have in these situations. If he could improve his tactical stuff by like 25-30% he’d be a perfect coach for this group, which is so young and inexperienced. Berhalter on whether Weston has a #USMNT future. "Of course... We had a long conversation... he's a guy I care for deeply."— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) September 7, 2021
The point really is, there’s rules for a reason in a team environment. There’s a responsibility to the team and the cause. Chances are McKennie didn’t get infected. That reportedly he trained with Juve shows that. But what if all 26 players decide to do the same. Then that small risk of getting COVID skyrockets. And that threatens careers and large sums of money, which the clubs are paying these guys. That impacts players, clubs, families, health, etc.
I’m personally all about redemption, and rising in the face of adversity. wes is hitting a cross roads here. Time to see who he really is
Weren't they always? The only difference is whether they do it as soon as January or as late as June. Hopefully he can turn things around and use this as motivation to do so.
No one is disputing Weston made an idiotic decision. No one is disputing that McKennie caused this situation. No one is disputing he deserves punishment But I'm pretty shocked how so many posters believe the current solution is (and was) the only way to handle this, and that this solution has been in the best interest for the team and player - You want to punish him for more than 1 game? Why does that 2nd game punishment need to be immediate? Why couldn't that be in the future and let him play Honduras. Does it really matter when the 2 game punishment takes place now? You think his teammates are going to underperform in Honduras in any way as a result of Weston is punished to miss a November game vs. now? Really? If they underperform in Honduras, it will be due to Berhalter tactics or lack of substitutions...not McKennie getting a 2nd future game sentence and playing - You are worried about the tiny chance that he could spread COVID to the team? Ok, you could have had him train separately and travel separately this week. You could have him take a test when he arrives in Honduras. And the odds would be 98+ % or greater he would not test positive, nor his teammates because of his actions. I would take the 98%+ over less than 2% any day. - You want to deter him from doing this in the future? But you do not think his apologize to his teammates, his remorse, later punishment and realizing the potential effect on his career would already be a strong deterrent? That it would not sink in to him how close he came to potentially wrecking his career in the coming weeks? Well, now we put the nail in that coffin already. For what....just a slight increase in odds that he will never do this again? - You think 'going by the rules' and making an example of Weston will make the players respect Berhalter more and (crucially) this will translate into better play? Really? I do think they will play better in Honduras (just 'cause they are due for a decent game after 2 stinkers) but it won't be because McKinnie is not there and that he got punished 'by the book' - Look at the absolute nuclear situation he walks into at Juventus now. Was this really necessary? (the fuel to fire with USMNT's PR approach). The player could not be taught a lesson differently and more quietly versus such a public flogging by USMNT. It could not be finessed so that the most ugly screaming Italian headlines could have avoided? Sure you can 'go by the book' and send the kid home....and technically that is within the rights of USSF ....but what have you really accomplished for the team and player? Are you net positive or net negative in this situation? That's the bottom line. Even in our legal system we provide guidance for judges but lots of flexibility based on a tons of factors what is best for society and the individual who transgresses. I find USSF/Berhalter approach totally unimaginative and it has created the worst possible short-medium-long-term outcome for the team as well as player. Some simple finessing of the situation by my examples (or some variation thereof) could have fulfilled the 'punishment fits crime' objective, kept the spirit of the rule, allowed us to field our best team in Honduras and not nuked this kid's career. And the nuclear approach will have a long, long tail...Just one example being: if McKennie is now in the doghouse and not playing minutes at Juventus, it will definitely affect his ability to help us in November as well. We could have delayed the 2nd game punishment (and not publicized this) until things died down and McKennie got some games in at Juventus in September/October, and potentially played good/great in Honduras and the PR spin would be materially different in Italy on this, the US team would have been able to move on etc etc.
Yes, delta variant ripping through Tennessee, but apparently its ok to have 40,000 people watch by the same organization that threw the book at Wes for his decision-making. Do you really think his teammates would underperform or think they had a free pass to take COVID risks if Wes got, say, a suspended 2nd game later in the cycle as punishment? I certainly don't
As they should. It reminds me of a girlfriend I had who, despite her flaws (and mine), was very, very beautiful. It was fun and exciting but eventually things got to a point where it was "you're not nearly beautiful enough for this" and we moved on.
Still one of my fave NT players. But getting him out was the right thing to do. At some point even his fans are going to stop giving him chances.
[QUOTE=" What a loss; the days of irreverence, lampoon, dark humor and "I may not agree with what you say but I'll go to battle to insure you have the right to say it" appear to be distant memories. When did ya'll start taking yourselves so seriously?[/QUOTE] We're 20 years older now. Old farts are not known for irreverence and humor.
Weston will absolutely be back with the USMNT. The talk of him being the next captain of the USMNT might become a lot quieter