At the time, Jermaine Jones’ move to the New England Revolution was filled with controversy, and that controversy has resurfaced due to an allegation from the player involved.
Jones took to Twitter to accuse Don Garber and MLS of rigging the blind draw that determined whether the U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder would join the Revs or the Chicago Fire. According to Jones, Garber told him before the call that the Revs would win the blind draw, an account that was dismissed by Revs president Brian Bilello.
The draw was done when Jones signed with the league in 2014 following a stay with Turkish powerhouse Besiktas. A blind draw was used to determine which club would be able to sign Jones on a Designated Player contract.
The draw was done via a video conference call. Multiple people were on the call (including me) and witnessed it.
— s – Brian Bilello (@RevsPrez) February 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/Jermainejunior/status/960711595851628544
https://twitter.com/Jermainejunior/status/960726695727710209
The midfielder’s tenure with the Revs was a successful one, at least initially, as the signing vaulted the team all the way to the 2014 MLS Cup finale, where Jones and co. lost to the Galaxy.
Jones also took to social media to fire criticism at U.S. Soccer, saying the upcoming presidential election needed to shakeup the federation if the program is to take a step forward.
In particular, Jones criticized what he sees as a “family business” atmosphere, targeting candidate Kathy Carter as an extension of that idea in the upcoming election.
I don’t think we are going the right way with soccer in our country. We need a strong USSF president, someone who played the game & speaks out what hurts. After missing the WC it’s time to face it! We run our soccer like family business & that shows us we aren’t on the right path
— Jermaine Jones (@Jermainejunior) February 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/Jermainejunior/status/960650711712198656
Jones feature for the LA Galaxy last season after previously playing for the Revs and Colorado Rapids in MLS. He is currently without a club.