The US Men’s National Team has struggled to find its footing in 2025. However, it makes up for that by grabbing headlines for petty fights involving former players and those currently representing the Stars and Stripes. These clashes have been at best unwelcome distractions and at worst harmed team cohesion and undermined support for the side. For example, soccer parents being dissatisfied with their son’s playing time overshadowed the conversation about what needs to happen next for the team following
the 2022 World Cup. More recently, a feud has emerged between the top players in on the team, a former great player, and Alexi Lalas.
The crux of the argument is that the current players don’t care about America and would rather be pretty boys focused on recovery and preparation for the upcoming season rather than grinding themselves into the ground until they are mentally and physically exhausted the way it was done by the greatest team in men’s US Soccer history – the 1930 World Cup team… or something to that effect.
Before the Gold Cup this summer Christian Pulisic announced he would miss the tournament to be ready for his club season and to focus on being ready for the World Cup next summer. This was unacceptable to Donovan and Lalas who have expressed their displeasure in a way to move the conversation forward and provide constructive feedback with comments like, “I can’t help but think about some of our guys on vacation, not wanting to play in the Gold Cup. It’s pissing me off.”
In response, Pulisic quipped, “I’m not going to f*** my summer up” when discussing why he chose to take time off. Wait. No. That was Scottie Pippen discussing waiting to have an operation before the 1997-98 NBA season before coming back and being a key player in delivering the sixth championship for the Chicago Bulls in eight years. Pippen was criticized for this but behind his decision was dissatisfaction with his contract. In his mind if he wasn’t being paid what he was worth his time was better spent enjoying the summer and rehabbing during the season. His decision put him in company of any number of legendary athletes who have made decisions during their careers the thought was best and faced questions of their commitment as a result.
Pulisic found himself in Pippen’s company and along with Tim Weah responded in a recent episode of the Pulisic documentary on Paramount +. The USA no. 10 said, “I’d say the most annoying thing, and for me, the biggest cop-out of all time, is when, especially, you know, all pundits want to say: ‘They didn’t want it. They didn’t have the heart, you know, back in our day, we would fight and we would die on that field.‘”
Weah, for his part, said, “Those guys are chasing checks, and for me, I just feel like they’re really evil, honestly, because they’ve been players, and they know what it’s like when you’re getting bashed.”
While the content from Lalas carries the monotonous heckling his brand is adored for, it’s surprising to hear this from Donovan. As has been pointed out, the former American talisman took an extended break ahead of the 2014 World Cup and was left off of the roster by manager Jurgen Klinsmann. It seems even more out of character for Donovan who also took his team off the field when he managed the San Diego Loyal when an opponent hurled a homophobic slur at Colin Martin. Donovan has followed his own judgement to do what he thinks is right while also criticizing players who do the same for themselves.
Between Lalas and Donovan, there is little credibility when it comes to discussing players missing the Gold Cup or their commitment to the national team. Their comments didn’t create a change or any productive discussion about what is best for the USMNT. Rather, less than a year before the World Cup, the narrative is about a conflict between former players shouting at clouds and key players who are going to fight for the team in the sport’s biggest tournament. They will be in the arena justifying their decision with their performance while Lalas and Donovan are online and talking in the broadcast booth.
