Thorns FC: Station Break

I had been just about to screen the dire Gotham away draw when the Yates report dropped.

The bulk of the report wasn’t new – well, other than the revelation that “they knew” more and sooner than they’d told us – but the thing that punched me in the gut was the information that Merritt Paulson and the Peregrine organization was still lying to us.

He promised cooperation and transparency. And then continued to lie and hide.

He promised honesty. And then continued to lie and hide.

He promised contrition. And then, it seems, was more aggrieved that his lying and hiding were being exposed than about the lying and hiding.

As I said over at Stumptown:

“I didn’t think I could be more pissed at the FO than I was. And there’s nothing in this that changes that regarding the various scoundrels behavior between 2014 and last spring.

No, it’s the constant lying and bullshitting since then that’s really pushed my buttons.

As the report points out; this sort of abuse was systemic. But once the shit hit the fan? AND Paulson knew this investigation was coming?

It takes a real arrogance to keep boldfaced lying to the people who buy your product. It takes some brass ones to think that because hiding and lying worked before that you can just keep hiding and lying forever.

That’s the tipping point. That’s where you go from just another rich prick to “sell the goddamn teams”. When you show your whole ass to every fan? “You’ll never pin it on me!”?

I would expect no more from a plutocrat.

But to have the utter fucking gall to know that your bastardy would be dragged into the light and STILL think you could bullshit the serfs? To think you could be pantsed in public while insisting your whole ass wasn’t showing and expect to get away with it?

That’s a whole ‘nother tumbrel-grade level of “entitled rich prick”-ism.”

So I’m going to have to step away for a bit.

I still love the Thorns. I still love the game.

But I have to take a bit to just breathe and recenter myself and try and figure out how to respond to the monstrous dickitude of Paulson & Co., both in my own headspace and here.

I’ll be back, promise.

Update 10/5: Here’s the thing.

I’m glad to see the back of Gavin Williamson. I’m not sorry I deferred judgement on him initially. My experience with GW is that as a person he’s kind of an asshole, so I’ve lived through many spells of #GWOut going back to the USL days, and it was entirely too easy to assume that he was also a slimebag about Riley (spit!) so that I wanted to wait to see the receipts.

Well, okay. The receipts are in, and, yes; Gavin was also a slimebag about Riley.

Adios, motherfucker.

Golub? Just a nasty little overgrown jock boy. Hasta la vista, baby to his ass, too.

Now.

Paulson.

That’s still a huge problem, and I’m not sure how to deal with him.

He, too, was a slimebag in 2015 (and 2019, and beyond). He lied and tried to hide all the way up to this week.

I don’t trust him anymore. I don’t see why anyone, any fan or any player, should.

He should go.

I’ve written to as many of the sponsors as I can reach to tell them that.

But the question remains; if he hasn’t sold, and the Thorns play on October 23rd…how should I, as a fan, as someone who is trying to be a good fan (and a goodperson and a good citizen…) approach that.

I don’t know.

My inclination would be to go and cheer for the team. But if NOT being there would make a stronger statement to Paulson?

I want to do that.

Hopefully the current squad will lead us where they need us to be.

But that still leaves me as mad as fury at the bastards who stole those players’ hopes, who stole our joyous memories, and who ground them all beneath their selfish, vicious greed.

Update 10/6: One thing I’m already doing is contacting the companies that sponsor the Peregrine organization and asking them to pressure Paulson to sell, and to reconsider their sponsorships if he doesn’t.

The 107ist has prepared a Google document with the contacts for the major sponsors here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lJGunpA-kKZBaTJwueECZK81Ni8zSaNFpVwmhyYvgfY/edit#gid=0

I hope you will add your voices. I don’t know if there is a “better” owner out there. But it’s past time to be done with this one. He simply can’t be trusted to act in the best interests of the players or the fans. His interest is self-interest, and we now know the lengths he’ll go to to protect it.

It’s time for him to go.