Major League Soccer’s review of D.C. United’s head coach hiring process found the team did not fully meet its obligations under MLS’ Diversity Hiring Policy. The policy requires that “the finalist pool includes two (2) or more candidates from underrepresented groups, whereby at least one (1) candidate must be either Black or African American.”
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D.C. United met with two qualifying candidates but only one could be considered a “finalist pool” interview. As a result, the team was fined $25,000.
“While D.C. United relied on representations made by one of the candidate’s agents that the candidate understood that they were interviewing as a finalist for the open coaching position, the club learned during the interview that the candidate was not available to pursue the open position,” a press release stated. “Once the club came to understand that the candidate was not available for the position, the discussion could no longer reasonably be considered a ‘finalist pool’ interview. Therefore, the club remained obligated to bring an additional candidate from an underrepresented group into the ‘finalist pool’ or request a waiver from MLS detailing the extenuating circumstances that would not allow them to have done so.”
The franchise hired soccer legend Wayne Rooney, who played two seasons with the club from 2018 to 2019, as head coach this past July.
(Photo: Roberto Schmidt / AFP via Getty Images)