Ann Coulter Publicly Dressed Down For Anti-U.S. Soccer Comments
Ann Coulter, who is no stranger to putting her foot in her mouth, made some disparaging comments about soccer, The World Cup Tournament currently underway in Brazil, and the U.S. Men’s National Team, who just survived the “Group of Death” to advance to the round of 16.
Coulter spoke out in her syndicated column about soccer — or football as it’s know in the rest of the world — with sexist, oddly political, and discriminatory barbs attacking everything from the fact that you don’t use your hands to disparaging remarks about how pathetic it is that little girls can play the game with little boys. Coulter said that “any growing interest in soccer is a sign our nation’s moral decay.”
In response, Ed Foster-Simeon, the President and CEO of the U.S. Soccer Foundation responded to Coulter’s remarks with pesky things called facts — things that Coulter has made a career out of avoiding. In his response, Foster-Simeon pointed out the sport’s growing popularity in America.
“Today, soccer is the second favorite sport for those 12 to 24 years old. It’s the third largest participation sport in the country. Soccer is the team sport with the highest growth rate over the past decade. That 41 percent of players are women only broadens its appeal.”
He goes on to compare soccer rating against two other sports that Coulter claimed were superior.
“TV ratings for the World Cup have already topped the NBA Finals and the World Series in America — Sunday’s game against Portugal brought in more than 25 million viewers and was the most-watch soccer match in U.S. history. It is a niche no more.
Coulter can’t even find support from Fox News, where she is a frequent guest on shows like Fox and Friends and The O’Reilly Factor. Fox News host Shep Smith, who was absolutely excited about The U.S. Men’s National Team advancing after their match with Germany, commented on Coulter’s remarks.
Smith said, somewhat sarcastically:
“It is a great day in the USA. The U.S. men’s soccer team is heading to the next round of the World Cup, off to the knockout stage, number two in the group and we’re through. I’m told it’s a sign of moral decay. It’s not.”
Coulter’s remarks have some outlets even calling her a “performance artist” who says outlandish things for the sake of publicity. Whether you agree with Coulter’s comments or not, soccer is a national sport, with the Major League Soccer (MLS) now in 22 cities across the nation. The U.S. Women’s Team is the number one ranked team in the world and has won Olympic gold in each of the last three summer games, and have four gold medals in total. The men’s team’s run through the World Cup is scoring record ratings and popularity has never been this high.
[Image Courtesy of Getty Images]
