By IVES GALARCEP
As if Jurgen Klinsmann wasn’t already going to face a mountain of scrutiny over his decision to leave Landon Donovan off the U.S. World Cup roster, his son decided it would be a good idea to throw gasoline on an already-prodigious fire.
Jonathan Klinsmann, the 17-year-old son of the U.S. national team coach, posted the above message on Twitter shortly after the announcement of the final 23-man U.S. World Cup squad. The mocking tweet set off a backlash from U.S. fans aimed at not only the younger Klinsmann, but also the latter Klinsmann as conspiracy theories began to fly regarding just why Klinsmann’s son held the U.S. national team’s all-time leading scorer in such seemingly low regard.
Jonathan Klinsmann posted an apology for the original tweet before eventually deleting his Twitter account. That hasn’t kept U.S. fans from being up in arms over the classless tweet posted by someone who, along with being Klinsmann’s son, is also a U.S. Under-18 national team goalkeeper slated to play for college power Cal in 2015.
So what should we make of the offending tweet? Should we chalk it up to a moment of childish stupidity, or is it a peek inside the family perception of Donovan? Do we really want to blame parents for the mistakes their children make, or does the shocking nature of the decision to drop Donovan from the World Cup squad make it inexcusable for father and son?
What do you make of the controversy? Think it’s just immaturity or think there is more at play than meets the eye?
Share your thoughts below.