Players Kneeling for Anthem Met with Boos Before MLS Game

There was a smattering of boos when players from FC Dallas and Nashville SC collectively took a knee during the national anthem before their MLS game Wednesday night in Frisco, Texas.

Dallas defender Reggie Cannon said he was disgusted by the boos at Toyota Stadium when players and officials knelt to call attention to racial injustice. He said teammate Ryan Hollingshead turned to him afterward and said he was sorry.

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Nashville Investment Group Awarded Major League Soccer Franchise, Will Play in City Subsidized Stadium

In a lavish ceremony at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame Wednesday, Governor Bill Haslam, Mayor Megan Barry, and a slew of local dignitaries gathered on stage with a full house in attendance to hear Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Gaber announce that, after a long and arduous bidding and review process, Nashville has been awarded an MLS expansion club. Mayor Megan Barry’s Twitter feed broadcast the moment of the announcement : Did you hear us? It’s official everyone! #NashvilleMLS pic.twitter.com/h8QHUOj0EY — Megan Barry (@MayorMeganBarry) December 20, 2017 “Nashville is the first of 12 cities that submitted formal bids in January to be awarded one of four available MLS expansion teams,” the MLS website stated. The investment group Nashville Soccer Holdings, LLC will form the ownership of the Nashville MLS team, which is led by John R. Ingram, the chairman of Ingram Industries Inc. “Ingram’s partners in the soccer club include Minnesota Vikings owners Mark, Zygi and Leonard Wilf, and the Turner Family, managing partners of Nashville-based MarketStreet Enterprises,” according to the MLS website. “Nashville continues its ascent as one of America’s most dynamic communities, with its incredible energy and creativity. For us, that makes it a perfect place for MLS expansion,” Commissioner Don Garber said.…

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‘Save Our Fairground’ Lawsuit to Stop Soccer Stadium Construction Dismissed

Chancery Court Judge Ellen Lyle agreed with the City of Nashville’s Motion to dismiss a lawsuit over the city’s plans for a Major League Soccer stadium at The Fairgrounds Nashville. The decision cleared the way for the professional soccer league to decide if, indeed, Nashville is to be included in its planned two-team expansion. The ruling comes as Save Our Fairground – represented by local attorney James Roberts – filed a lawsuit in late November arguing Metro Nashville’s plans to develop a professional soccer stadium and surrounding amenities would put in jeopardy the land’s original use, as defined in the city charter as modified by referendum in 2011. Metro Nashville lawyers answered with a motion to dismiss, saying the claims made by Roberts were either premature or did not have standing because even if the claims were true, they did not meet the standards requiring legal review. In a 10-page decision (see below), Judge Lyle agreed with the city, writing: After studying Tennessee law and the Amended Complaint of the Plaintiffs, and considering oral argument of the attorneys for each side, the court concludes Metro is correct. This lawsuit must be dismissed. “This decision affirms what we’ve known all along:…

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