NEW YORK – The names of Khiry Shelton and Mikey Lopez are typically counted among New York City FC’s gameday roster, but a disciplinary decision saw the two miss out on Saturday’s match against the Chicago Fire.
Head coach Patrick Vieira said the two were left out of the NYCFC team for Sunday’s match due to his displeasure with recent social media-related issues. Prior to Sunday’s match, Shelton started in three of NYCFC’s first four games, while Lopez had been a part of two matches in his first season with the club.
“Khiry and Mikey Lopez were supposed to be part of the team, but I wasn’t pleased and happy about the message on the internet or in the news about the video,” Vieira said. “I think that was disrespectful to Chicago and that is not the message that I want from the players because I want this football club, I want this team, to be humble and to work hard and try and perform and win games and not spending too much time on social media sending negative messages that don’t reflect the football club.
“It is important for me to send the message and it’s important for them to understand that the message that they are sending is bigger than themselves. I don’t want that to have any negative impact on the team, but bigger than the team is the football club. I’m talking about the football club. I’m talking about the groundsman. I’m talking about the people working in the office, because that doesn’t reflect who we are as a football club, and that is why they did not take part in the game today.”
Vieira did not go into further detail regarding the incidents that caused the duo’s absence, but the video referenced is one posted earlier in the week. In the video, Shelton and Lopez said they did not care who the team’s next opponent is as NYCFC was going to win “no matter what.”
Here is the video:
@NYCFCfan @BlueCityRadio @JLa_NYC the video is still online… IMO lame decision by coach https://t.co/XEWFZcyB2C
— ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (@NYCFClol) April 11, 2016
What do you think of Vieira’s decision? Think Shelton and Lopez should have been left off of the roster?
Share your thoughts below.
I bet no one would be questioning an MLS company guy like Kreis if he said that this was bad for MLS and unprofessional so he had to sit them. People would be clapping like trained seals lockstep.
On the surface there’s no excuse for Viera not to play them but he is the coach. He reap and sow the benefits of his decision or He’ll languish in the agony if it turns out wrong
Being French (well, Senegalese with French citizenship), Vieira should know a bit about half the team quitting over a coach dismissing a player.
I think they really are sitting for their hairstyles, but PV needed a more “acceptable” excuse so he pounced on this.
Haven’t seen too many videos from Lampard lately. Is he even in New York still?
Seems like there are more positives than negatives in that video.
Yikes! This seems a little bit odd as the video wasn’t distasteful, tacky, or disrespecting. I’ll take Vieira at his word, though, as he’s the boss but I’m sensing there’s more to the story. I just don’t know what. The only thing I can really conjure up would be that while practice was “over” their day at the office was not. They could have been making the video and been late for a video session or missing work with the medical/training staff. Who knows! Oh well…………..
This is so harmless…
Seems pretty mild. But we are not seeing it in the same context as a club, the players….. the manager. As always, we have only a small part of the picture and little knowledge of what really goes on behind the scenes/public persona. I am guessing that…. it is quite possible Vieira has already directly addressed the players about his expectations with social media. Perhaps he is reinforcing what he has already stated in no uncertain terms.
I submit that anyone who does not know why PV suspended these two well meaning youngsters does not understand the level of focus and professionalism required to win championships.
You have got to be joking, right? This was AFTER practice while they are leaving the training ground and are having a little fun. I thought the video was incredibly tame. I guess in your eyes, the players have to “ON” at all times. *Drving home=focus on the W, *Eating dinner=focus on the W, * Taking a crap= focus on the W, *No time for watching TV=focus on the W, *No time for sleep=focus on the W. Focus/Professionalism/Focus/Professionalism/Focus/Professionalism.
If your post was sarcasm, well played. If you are serious, then you must be the worst person at a party. Or, you don’t go to parties because you are trying to win the championship of life by doing nothing but maintaining a level of focus/professionalism/focus/professionalism/focus/professionalism.
They’ll have plenty of time for those shenanigans once their careers as professional soccer players are over with in a few years’ time. In the meantime, yes, it is absolutely expected of professional athletes to be… wait for it… professional.
Nothing they said was even that bad. There is far worse trash talking in all the other major U.S. sports. I think you guys are forgetting that these are people who are at a job, and after that job they get to go home and be themselves just like every one of us. That includes cutting loose and having a little fun. I found that to be about as innocent of trash talking as you can find in professional sports.
You’re not in high school anymore boys. Act like a professional.
New coach has to set the tone and now all the youngsters on the team have the message. He’s teaching them how to be professionals.
I feel ya but just seems harsh or perhaps could have been less public about the punishment.
On another note, vieira, how about u figure a way to get Poku on the field……
He’s a foreign manager therefore he has thousands of secret mind game conspiracies that he is running behind the scenes. He told Mikey and Khiry to make the silly twitter video, then suspended them for it so he could play Poku. I thought you of all people would see through the ruse DLOA. (That was just for Davis no need to claim I’m an idiot)
There you go! Someone finally gets it.
yeah, this is so tame (and lame). They said “who are we playing? I don’t know.” In terms of trash talking, it doesn’t get much more tame than that.
OK I am a RBNY fan so anything negative for NYCFC generally intrigues me, but if this video is really why they were suspended, I mean I guess it could be seen as disrespectful but it’s kinda just kids messing around, not a big deal at all to me
how is that rude?