During the last World Cup, despite the The US National Team’s relative success, there was a noticeable absence on the pitch. Giovanni Reyna, likely the most talented player on the whole roster, got very little playing time–only 52 minutes in four games. On social media, many fans expressed outrage towards US Coach Gregg Berhalter for this decision. As it turned out, Reyna’s lack of playing time was a response to issues with his attitude. After being benched for the first game of the tournament, Reyna became dejected and stopped putting forth effort in the training sessions leading up to matches. He would reportedly jog around during practice and showed a severe lack of intensity, considering the World Cup is the most prestigious prize in all of soccer. In response, Berhalter benched him for much of the remainder of the tournament.
In sports, striving towards not only individual, but also team success is essential for players of all levels. Unfortunately, many players seem to only care about what happens to them personally, and not how their team does. Looking at the case of Reyna and of one of my own soccer teammates leads me to believe that the root of a player’s selfish or team-oriented attitude can be found in the culture and environment in which they are raised.
After the worldcup had finished and the US had been knocked out, Gio didn’t say or do much, but his parents took action. They were incredibly displeased with his lack of playing time. However, instead of helping him with his attitude and lack of effort, they elected to attempt to blackmail the US coach. By bringing up allegations of abuse by Berhalter from 30 years earlier against a woman who is now his wife, they tried to force Berhalter to step down as coach. When he refused, Gio's parents brought the allegations to the United States Soccer Federation and lobbied for Berhalter to be fired. While Berhalter was not immediately forced to step down, his contract was not renewed and the US Soccer Federation attempted to search for a new coach for six months before finally rehiring Berhalter.
These actions by Gio’s parents may give us insight into how his self-oriented attitude was formed. Reyna’s parents appear to have a sort of snowplow approach in regards to Reyna’s soccer career. Reyna's father, Claudio, was the president of the soccer club where Reyna played for most of his youth career. Gio was a very talented youth player. He didn’t need his dad to guarantee him a spot on academy teams, because he was good enough to earn one himself. However, his parents seem to want a direct involvement with his playing career. Claudio’s presence at Gio’s youth club, along with his later actions against Berhalter, suggest that throughout Gio’s career Claudio attempted to exert his influence over the team’s on which his son played. Unfortunately Gio’s parents desire for Gio to receive special treatment on whatever team he plays for, may have been passed on to Gio. He now has a larger sense of self than a sense of team, which may come from his parents' influence.
Though he hasn’t quite reached the heights of the World Cup yet, I personally know an athlete who, much like Gio Reyna, comes from a great line of athletes. With his father being a division 1 track athlete and his grandfather being an Olympic gold medalist in the 200m dash, my soccer and track teammate has a family history that, like the Reyna’s, is filled with athletic achievement. However, there is one very noticeable difference between my teammate and Gio Reyna: attitude. Gio, as evidenced by his World Cup antics, clearly has an issue with attitude and entitlement. My teammate on the other hand, has had no such problems. Despite coming from a line of athletes, he never seemed to think he had a right to a starting spot or that he was inherently better than any other teammates. In fact, during this past soccer season my teammate was in a position very similar to Reyna’s at the World Cup. Even though he was clearly one of the best players on my school soccer team, the coach was not starting him or giving him much playing time. But unlike Reyna, my teammate worked as hard as he could to prove to the coach that he deserved to start. He showed up to practice, worked hard, and performed well in the minutes that he did get. Eventually he not only gained a starting spot, but was unanimously voted league MVP and led the team to win the league. Not only did he work hard to gain personal success, but he was also a good teammate the entire time, always encouraging other players and helping them improve.
My friend’s grandfather is Tommy Smith, who is famous for what he did in the 1968 Olympics. Leading up to the Olympics, Smith was a part of a group of African American athletes who were considering boycotting the Olympics, due to the unfair and prejudicial treatment of black people in America. However, he ultimately decided it would be more effective to go to the Olympics, and use his platform as one of the best athletes there to spread his message. As he was standing on the podium receiving his gold medal for the 200 meter dash, Smith, along with Bronze medalist John Carlos, raised his fist in the air with a black glove on it, to protest the unfair treatment of black people in America. He received an incredible amount of backlash for this decision. Back in America, he was ostracized by the media with one ESPN analyst calling him and Carlos “A couple of black-skinned stormtroopers" who were "ignoble," "juvenile," and "unimaginative.” He received numerous death threats and was banned from competing for the US track team ever again because of his actions. Smith was aware that he would face significant backlash for his decision, but he was willing to endure that, because he believed that what he did was for the greater good. I believe that my teammate has inherited that selfless attitude through his lineage.
My teammate's selfless attitude which he inherited from his grandfather not only helped him individually, but also helped lead our team as a whole to success. Conversely, Gio’s self-oriented mentality which appears to have been imparted on him by his parents, hurt both his individual and his team’s success. An athlete's lineage forms their attitude which is key to individual and team success.
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