Charles Schumer: “I’m urging the U.S. Soccer Federation to reconsider its decision and support division-two status for the North American Soccer League.” (Photo courtesy of Charles Schumer’s website)
By Michael Lewis
FrontRowSoccer.com Editor
The Cosmos, got some support from an unexpected source Tuesday — Sen. Charles Schumer of New York.
Schumer, the leading Democrat in the U.S. Senate, asked for the U.S. Soccer Federation to rescind its decision not to grant North American Soccer League Division Two status for 2018.
“From the profitable sponsorship deals to the steady job creation that the New York Cosmos have brought to Coney Island and Brooklyn at large, it’s clear that division two status is a win-win for the region,” Schumer said. “I’m urging the U.S. Soccer Federation to reconsider its decision and support a division two status for the North American Soccer League so that teams like the New York Cosmos can continue to thrive.”
Schumer lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., where the Cosmos call home at MCU Park in Coney Island, N.Y. After playing four seasons at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., they moved to the baseball park for this season.
According to a press release from Schumer’s office, the senator said “the United States Soccer Federation’s decision to deny the North American Soccer League’s application for Division II status next year could reduce professional soccer competition and threaten the very existence of the North American Soccer League and its clubs” and “that a Division III status could hurt the New York Cosmos, as it would mean a significant decline of sponsors and television broadcast partners, loss of ceding position in the U.S. Open Cup tournament and future challenges in signing quality players.”
In a written decision Saturday, Judge Margo K. Brodie of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York turned down the league’s request for the temporary relief it sought in its federal anti-trust case against the U.S. Soccer Federation.
On Monday, the NASL filed an 18-page motion for an expedited appeal of the U.S. District Court’s denial of a preliminary injunction that would have required U.S. Soccer to sanction the NASL as a Division 2 league next year.
In its filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the NASL stated said the court’s ruling would likely be a “death blow to the NASL.”
The federation had no immediate comment on Schumer’s statement.
Aaron Elstein of Crain’s New York Business first reported Schumer’s statement earlier Tuesday.
His story can be found at:
