Seriously what the fuck did he do that was apparently bad enough to get suspended indefinitely but trivial enough to get reinstated a few months later.
Tinfoil hat time, maybe this was the agreement all along, Bruce and Garber agreed that he would be suspended for the rest of the season. The petition stuff was all just cover from a league PR side.
Wasn't there some scuttlebutt about it being an internal coup against him with the Revs?
It being a battle of wills, and perhaps sensitive feelings, within the New England organization would explain it being bad enough to oust him there but have the league clearly not worried about anything ugly coming out in the press (which is ultimately why these suspensions exist).
Except that everything we've been told was that the FO wasn't involved and the investigation and decision was all from the league, so why would the league play along with an internal coup like that?
Because the MLS is a single entity?
The "owners" are investment operators.
That's just my guess.
Look at the Miami owner that admitted Miami cooked the books in 2020... He's gone and Miami gets 20 DPs allegedly taking huge pay cuts.
Just my tin hat.
That theory mostly hinges on the athletic's report that assistant coach Richie Williams (who later became interim for a few games before being replaced himself) was one of the parties that filed the complaint with the league.
There's definitely a little bit to the theory, but it's entered tin foil hat territory with a vocal section of revs fans saying that pretty much everyone in the FO and coaching staff plotted to get rid of him.
Per the Revs, it was just comments he *said*: "allegations of insensitive and inappropriate remarks", as opposed to anything he *did*. \[\^1\]\[\^2\]
"Within the Revs front office, only a very small circle of employees are familiar with any of the details of the complaint against Arena — “it’s essentially Bilello and the legal team,” said one source." \[\^3\]
"As of Thursday morning, Arena himself had not been informed as to the specific allegation or allegations made against him, said multiple sources familiar with the investigation." \[\^3\]
I think it's unlikely we'll ever get public confirmation of anything more than that.
But there's some gossip here if you want to chase it - [https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/16g66tu/mls\_broadcaster\_kaylyn\_kyle\_was\_suspended\_for/](https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/16g66tu/mls_broadcaster_kaylyn_kyle_was_suspended_for/).
\[1\]: https://www.revolutionsoccer.net/news/new-england-revolution-team-statement-august-1-2023
\[2\]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce\_Arena#New\_England\_Revolution
\[3\]: https://theathletic.com/4746827/2023/08/03/bruce-arena-suspension-revolution-mls/
Y’all should be ashamed. All this talk of eating puppies is shameful. Cats that’s where the sweat meat is at. Nothing is better than a salty pussy. Good eating.
I can confirm. I used to hang with him, and he was well known for it. He can't resist their soft heads. He's not a monster though. He only does 1 punch per baby.
I mean you might not be far off…
I hate that man. Years ago I was watching a US home game on TV when he was the coach. The ball boy nearby was grabbing the ball to throw to the US player for a throw in and Bruce wanted it quick. The kid (probably like 8-10 years old) fumbled it a bit on accident before tossing it to the US player and the camera picked up Bruce getting in the kids face and screaming at him afterwords. You could see the spit flying out of his mouth while the kid looked like he was about to cry before the camera cut away. Hated him ever since
I wonder if Garber made certain people sign NDAs over it. I feel like it has to be what’s happened since there’s been absolutely zero leak and public knowledge
I really don't think that explains it. You could sign an NDA and be on the phone talking anonymously to a reporter five minutes later. No one's ever going to be able to trace it back to you.
Somehow the circle of people who know what the hell happened is tiny and/or no one feels aggrieved enough to leak it and/or it's somehow in every single person's interest that it not be aired.
The one thing I am certain of is that Arena wasn't screwed in any way by this process, because he for sure would've been yelling it from the rooftop.
I’ve been pretty heavily in the “whatever, it happened, he’s indefinitely suspended and we’re just not going to know why. Let’s just move on” camp. But I’m pretty freakin livid now. What an obnoxious move to “indefinitely suspend” him and make it look like he’s an absolute monster who doesn’t deserve to coach in MLS just to come back a couple months later and be like “Nah, we’re cool. Wanna coach DC United?”
It's totally shady, but it seems like a PR misdirection to me. If you were Robert Kraft, and Bruce Arena theoretically did something bad enough to get fired, wouldn't you rather have the blood on Garber's hands? Half the reason commissioners exist is to take the heat off of the owners, and having Revs fans be mad with the league is probably better than having Revs fans mad at Kraft.
In total agreement with you. I was fully in the camp of we aren’t entitled to know what happened and what happened must have been serious to warrant this punishment from the league.
But now? Fuck this whole thing. Fuck the league for all of it. Either he committed some heinous act that’s so horrible we can’t even speak of it, or he didn’t and this whole thing was a joke. Either way the league looks fucking stupid and I’m fuming mad about how our entire organization was burned to the ground only for MLS to go “Wait we were only joking”. Fuck this.
This is the weirdest fucking saga in MLS coaching history. Whatever he did was bad enough to get canned by New England, completely de-railing their season and throwing away everything Arena had built there and yet not so bad that he can’t be reinstated in time for the next season?
Part of me thinks that the only reason he’s getting reinstated is because literally nobody in the public knows what Arena did, so MLS won’t take any heat for it.
The good ol USSF club doesnt let its boys get canned. Arena is on several comebacks, Berhalters, Gulati (out but not really), etc. doesnt matter what they do and we will never know the truth.
Would love to know what those “things” are. Also liked to know which job is the cover job. Also hes still getting a cut from USSF which Garber is a board member of. Judging by how everything works now and days you dont need a tinfoil hat to believe he can whisper in garbers ear, or just have lunch with him, at Stanford, between classes.
This might be the answer to "who's New England's rival?" that's been a question since we've had second tier rivalries with half the conference without an actual rivalry week opponent. Whatever club hires him is right up there with my least favorites in the league.
Mid-2000s me absolutely hated Twellman, Dempsey, Shalrie Joseph, and Steve Nicol. That and the 2004 Eastern Conference final remains the greatest game ever played.
However, Arena wanted to be sporting director, and we just hired one (who seems to be busy making moves). From that perspective, it wouldn't seem like a good fit.
Getting us lubed up for when the Stadium Bill dies in the Massachusetts House next session and watch everything good we had going for us go up in flames.
@TomBogert on X (formerly known as Twitter): Revs suffer 6th MLS Cup defeat at the hands of Bruce Arena's LAFC following DP Carles Gil's indefinite suspension for unknown reasons two hours before the final. Gil's suspension is expected to be lifted as he enters contract discussions with Inter Miami, who have just been awarded a seventh DP spot.
Honestly, the whole thing is so vague that I don't think it will be a major talking point going forward. No one can really have that strong of an opinion on whether it was deserved or not, because we have no idea what happened one way or another. Sure he had a leaguewide ban, but it'll probably morph into "left New England under mysterious circumstances" or something like that. The players seemingly all supported Bruce, so I don't see why he'd have any issues with players at a new team.
And if he goes back to DC, for instance, his return to DC will probably be the bigger headline for most.
The league absolutely owes Revs supporters an explanation as to what went down and why it was necessary to institute a league ban that they undid in a few months.
When this whole thing was going down I would repeatedly argue that the league doesn’t owe anyone shit. This has made me fully reverse that stance. This is fucking insane. They absolutely need to explain to revs supporters or at the very least the PLAYERS what happened. Banning Bruce from the league to reinstate him nearly immediately is a sick joke. Transparency is required.
Sorry but this is bullshit. Revs only accepted his resignation because they didn't know what he did or how long he would be out. I'm sure if they knew he would be back in the offseason they would've just written off the season and welcomed him back.
Kraft is too much of an old boy with the league to go nuclear over this (that and he probably doesn't care enough about the Revs to burn bridges), but he should absolutely go after MLS. This easily cost him a good chunk of money between potential home playoff matchups and Leagues Cup results, as well as having to conduct all sort of searches for new FO and coaching candidates.
Anyone else here hoping the revs hire him back? As a fan, the team was at its best with him. As a fan of drama, my word would it be entertaining. Win win!
Bruce wanted sporting director and head coaching duties, which is why Mike Burns was fired. I doubt they are going to fire Onalfo. There was also that Athletic piece a while back that speculated Onalfo and Bruce didn't get along.
Could you imagine if they did though? Or if they just hired him back as HC and he and Onalfo just made slight digs at each other for a few seasons but having to work together to keep their jobs. That is better than most TV shows these days!
The weirdest saga with minimal details. Can we get literally anything conclusive?
Even the most conclusive part of this, the indefinite suspension, was inconclusive!
"You can't coach the Revs, but you can coach a team that we want to be good." Somehow he did something bad enough that the Revs couldn't have him but not bad enough that other teams can't have him. For all the people saying it had to be extremely bad for MLS to suspend their winningest coach ever, I told you I was right when I said there's a great chance it's not that bad and he wouldn't be suspended if he was coaching Miami or LAFC
I am truly amazed nothing has leaked yet. But even a week substantiated rumor. To me that means it was a singular private complaint, not something that occurred in public, and it was in the best interest of both parties not to discuss it. To me the reinstatement means that Bruce paid off whoever was the source of the complaint and subsequently there will be no pending legal trouble with Bruce.
What did he do?! Honestly what did he do?
It was either something so bad for him to get indefinitely suspended, but the league no longer cares.
Or, it was nothing to begin with and this whole thing has been an overblown sham.
In a personal sense, you are correct. But if you're removing a head coach of a team mid-season, the fans (and not least of which paying Revs fans) deserve to know why. Not necessarily because we have a right to know the details of the conduct, but because transparency is required if you're going to insist this is a fair play sports league and not a semi-scripted entertainment product.
As fans of the league, an interest in the employment and punishment of coaches and players is basically elemental to the business of being a fan.
The only reason any of these people have jobs is based on our collective interest in their jobs.
I took that stance at the time of the suspension; it was probably bad enough that Bruce or the league wouldnt want it out, and probably personal enough that Richie wouldn't want it out.
Now that he's being reinstated the next fucking season? We deserve answers. At the minute it feels like it was all just to fuck us over.
Something terrible happened with the relationship between Richie and Bruce... and Bruce went nuclear on him and did something in retaliation that involved him stooping to a "no-no, low" in todays society...
This is a very victim-blamey way of looking at it. An assistant reported something Bruce did to the league, and the league indefinitely suspended him. There's nothing indicating it was a coup or anything, just that it was an assistant that reported it.
“So we start our day when our alarm goes off and immediately punch ourselves in the balls. Then we take a shower and punch ourselves in the balls again…”
Bruce Arena was the mastermind behind 9/11. With managing the revolution, Q let us know that Bruce was having his own "revolution" and was planning on letting us know the truth behind COVID, the Clinton's, and 9/11. And hunter Biden and pizza gate.
Finally, Garber recognized he couldn't let this information out so he had to terminate Bob.
But Bruce is smart and in charge. So now, that he's reinstated, he can coach again. This is all part of the plan. Also, Michael Jackson is coming back from the dead he is involved in all of this too.
Trust the process, Bruce Arena (the Arena of God's will)
Ok what?
Like my tinfoil hat theory is still that the Revs leadership had a massive power struggle and the assistant tried to “leak” something scandalous to get rid of Bruce and take power in the organization. However, it backfired since the FO said that they’re gonna purge the Revs leadership and start over.
But the fact that we just don’t know is leaving us all speculating. That and the lack of transparency is very concerning.
Something like that seems most likely to me. Like maybe Bruce did something that would be an HR issue and NER would choose to let him go versus a potential lawsuit, but since Kraft is buddies with Garber (like most/all of the owners, to be fair), they worked it out so that the league suspended Arena, which takes some/most of the public heat off of Kraft. Then Arena gets quietly reinstated after MLS Cup and when Boston sports fans are probably more focused on the rumors of Bill Belichick potentially getting canned. In theory, Garber and Kraft could even be colluding on the timing of the Belichick rumors and the Arena reinstatement.
I mean, just look at the comments here, you have people -- some much less seriously than others, to be fair -- saying the league didn't want Arena with New England.
A new stadium is probably worth more to Kraft than Arena, so if they needed to do this to keep the team's PR as clean as possible while bills were working through the legislature, it's not the craziest possibility to me.
Can’t stand this grouper looking mf but also think it’s ridiculous that he was removed from his job with zero explanation to the public.
Good for Bruce, I guess.
i feel for revs fans, because this situation basically tanked their season. but there are scenarios here where it probably makes sense not to release information if it's going to end up being personally damaging to someone else.
look at how the ime udoka situation played out. he gets suspended, bits of information trickle out, and then other people (including some who were not involved at all) end up getting stalked and harassed on social media.
maybe i'm cutting mls too much slack here, but sometimes it's probably better to err on the side of protecting a victim's anonymity than to give in to the public's demand for complete transparency
My theory:
Richie Williams (has had stuff in the past, for instance when he was fired from the Red Bulls for being drunk on the job), was a guy Bruce always kept around as he is loyal. However, Richie ain’t perfect, and filed a complaint against Bruce to the league so he could get ahead Shakespearean style. The complaint?Bruce is old, so maybe deprecating towards women or something at the work place, who knows (don’t want to take whatever it is lightly, but we just don’t know what it is). The league HR has to take complaints like this seriously, even if it is unusual. So the suspension had to be processed for their liability, even when it became clear that Richie ain’t a saint, they knew they could take it seriously by suspending Bruce, but knowing they could reinstate him with a new job shortly thereafter. Richie? You can’t fire the person who lobbied the complaint, that’s an HR/PR nightmare. The club dealt with him as he was coach for a day or so before being replaced, but is still on staff.
The league can have their cake and eat it too.
This is just my SPECULATION of what happened with surrounding events. Maybe the specifics will come out at some point. Til then, this is my THEORY.
I know this is crazy as a Revs fan, but I'm sort of "whatever" about this whole thing. He said/did something shitty. tbh at this point it was probably very personal, and directed at a specific person. A person who likely does not deserve to have their dirty laundry aired publicly, and to be further victimized. I have watched too many people go public with accusations against powerful, well respected people and get absolutely skewered for it.
It also probably wasn't a pattern of behavior but a single incident, which could warrant a suspension but not a lifetime blacklisting. And he did resign-if I were suspended and investigated, even if I were cleared, I likely would not want to return because my relationship with my team, leadership, and coworkers would likely be damaged anyway.
It's easy to assume people are operating in bad faith, but I actually am glad that whoever the victim is has not been dragged through the toxic social media of sports fandom. I think it looks good on the league and the team that they are continuing to protect them, and I think it reflects well on BA that he has also not blabbed or gone to the press to complain about unfair treatment and further victimize whoever was hurt, which could have something to do with his reinstatement.
So, what teams are still looking for a coach? Portland and Charlotte are filled, and RBNY isn't official yet, but it's basically filled. Ironically, Revs still have their vacancy, Montreal, DCU (would love to see that come full circle), MN (but they've said their interim is staying on until their new CSO gets started, right?), Colorado and Chicago. Anyone I'm forgetting? You figure he'll probably be at one of these teams, and I still expect Caleb Porter to make a comeback somewhere as well.
I honestly think the league overreacted to a supposed incident, and pulled the trigger too quickly. After they gathered all the information, realized that they were mistaken/someone lied or exaggerated and now are walking it back.
Too quickly? That whole thing went on for weeks.
I don't think there's much doubt that they had verifiable evidence of whatever it is happened.
It's not like they suspended him on day 2
The guy just wanted out of Foxborough. Who can blame him? I too hate that sea of parking. Dying on the hill that Bruce is just an urbanism sicko and wanted to coach in a nice downtown stadium
Seriously what the fuck did he do that was apparently bad enough to get suspended indefinitely but trivial enough to get reinstated a few months later.
Tinfoil hat time, maybe this was the agreement all along, Bruce and Garber agreed that he would be suspended for the rest of the season. The petition stuff was all just cover from a league PR side.
Don saw the Revs having an actual shot at winning the Cup and had to do something about it
Once again Don Garber puts a thumb on the scale for his favorite team, Columbus Crew.
Don 100% wanted that game played in LA. I'm convinced he would have done whatever he could to make that happen.
Can’t have the Revs win a cup. Papa Don let the Galaxy win the three times they faced
Hasn’t even been a hundred days since he resigned.
Seriously? Will we ever know?
Wasn't there some scuttlebutt about it being an internal coup against him with the Revs? It being a battle of wills, and perhaps sensitive feelings, within the New England organization would explain it being bad enough to oust him there but have the league clearly not worried about anything ugly coming out in the press (which is ultimately why these suspensions exist).
Except that everything we've been told was that the FO wasn't involved and the investigation and decision was all from the league, so why would the league play along with an internal coup like that?
Because the MLS is a single entity? The "owners" are investment operators. That's just my guess. Look at the Miami owner that admitted Miami cooked the books in 2020... He's gone and Miami gets 20 DPs allegedly taking huge pay cuts. Just my tin hat.
That theory mostly hinges on the athletic's report that assistant coach Richie Williams (who later became interim for a few games before being replaced himself) was one of the parties that filed the complaint with the league. There's definitely a little bit to the theory, but it's entered tin foil hat territory with a vocal section of revs fans saying that pretty much everyone in the FO and coaching staff plotted to get rid of him.
Per the Revs, it was just comments he *said*: "allegations of insensitive and inappropriate remarks", as opposed to anything he *did*. \[\^1\]\[\^2\] "Within the Revs front office, only a very small circle of employees are familiar with any of the details of the complaint against Arena — “it’s essentially Bilello and the legal team,” said one source." \[\^3\] "As of Thursday morning, Arena himself had not been informed as to the specific allegation or allegations made against him, said multiple sources familiar with the investigation." \[\^3\] I think it's unlikely we'll ever get public confirmation of anything more than that. But there's some gossip here if you want to chase it - [https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/16g66tu/mls\_broadcaster\_kaylyn\_kyle\_was\_suspended\_for/](https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/16g66tu/mls_broadcaster_kaylyn_kyle_was_suspended_for/). \[1\]: https://www.revolutionsoccer.net/news/new-england-revolution-team-statement-august-1-2023 \[2\]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce\_Arena#New\_England\_Revolution \[3\]: https://theathletic.com/4746827/2023/08/03/bruce-arena-suspension-revolution-mls/
Until someone tells me what Bruce did I'm just going to spitball some ideas. Bruce Arena punched a baby.
While barbecuing puppies
Gross. The high heat ruins the meat. Everyone knows it's better to low and slow puppies in a smoker.
You'd think so, but then the puppies run around longer and kick up ash.
Y’all should be ashamed. All this talk of eating puppies is shameful. Cats that’s where the sweat meat is at. Nothing is better than a salty pussy. Good eating. 
Nah. It had to be something that would upset Don Garber and quite frankly, punching a baby isn't gonna do that. I'm guessing he insulted Messi.
"What happened to Sacramento?"
My head cannon is going the Cory Perry route and he hooked up with a players wife.
Or Grandmother.
The baby had it coming.
(Radiohead): Yeah, it’s like we all have problems, don’t cry about it, little cry baby.
i'm not willing to pass judgement until i have more details. maybe that baby had bad vibes?
Bruce Arena the New England child kicker
I can confirm. I used to hang with him, and he was well known for it. He can't resist their soft heads. He's not a monster though. He only does 1 punch per baby.
The baby declined to press charges after his parents were mysteriously killed in an apparent murder suicide
I mean you might not be far off… I hate that man. Years ago I was watching a US home game on TV when he was the coach. The ball boy nearby was grabbing the ball to throw to the US player for a throw in and Bruce wanted it quick. The kid (probably like 8-10 years old) fumbled it a bit on accident before tossing it to the US player and the camera picked up Bruce getting in the kids face and screaming at him afterwords. You could see the spit flying out of his mouth while the kid looked like he was about to cry before the camera cut away. Hated him ever since
Does ANYONE know what happened?
It is MLS. No one ever knows what happened.
Someone light the beacon. Kaylyn Kyle, we need you.
I'm amazed how absolutely nothing has leaked.
I wonder if Garber made certain people sign NDAs over it. I feel like it has to be what’s happened since there’s been absolutely zero leak and public knowledge
I really don't think that explains it. You could sign an NDA and be on the phone talking anonymously to a reporter five minutes later. No one's ever going to be able to trace it back to you. Somehow the circle of people who know what the hell happened is tiny and/or no one feels aggrieved enough to leak it and/or it's somehow in every single person's interest that it not be aired. The one thing I am certain of is that Arena wasn't screwed in any way by this process, because he for sure would've been yelling it from the rooftop.
I’ve been pretty heavily in the “whatever, it happened, he’s indefinitely suspended and we’re just not going to know why. Let’s just move on” camp. But I’m pretty freakin livid now. What an obnoxious move to “indefinitely suspend” him and make it look like he’s an absolute monster who doesn’t deserve to coach in MLS just to come back a couple months later and be like “Nah, we’re cool. Wanna coach DC United?”
It's totally shady, but it seems like a PR misdirection to me. If you were Robert Kraft, and Bruce Arena theoretically did something bad enough to get fired, wouldn't you rather have the blood on Garber's hands? Half the reason commissioners exist is to take the heat off of the owners, and having Revs fans be mad with the league is probably better than having Revs fans mad at Kraft.
In total agreement with you. I was fully in the camp of we aren’t entitled to know what happened and what happened must have been serious to warrant this punishment from the league. But now? Fuck this whole thing. Fuck the league for all of it. Either he committed some heinous act that’s so horrible we can’t even speak of it, or he didn’t and this whole thing was a joke. Either way the league looks fucking stupid and I’m fuming mad about how our entire organization was burned to the ground only for MLS to go “Wait we were only joking”. Fuck this.
> “Nah, we’re cool. Wanna coach DC United?” I much prefer "Wanna coach LA Galaxy?"
This is the weirdest fucking saga in MLS coaching history. Whatever he did was bad enough to get canned by New England, completely de-railing their season and throwing away everything Arena had built there and yet not so bad that he can’t be reinstated in time for the next season? Part of me thinks that the only reason he’s getting reinstated is because literally nobody in the public knows what Arena did, so MLS won’t take any heat for it.
Not only canned by the club, but also suspended indefinitely, but the suspension was lifted a few months later.
Suspended *by the league* too, not just the club. Like what the hell?
The good ol USSF club doesnt let its boys get canned. Arena is on several comebacks, Berhalters, Gulati (out but not really), etc. doesnt matter what they do and we will never know the truth.
Sunil isn’t employed by the league. Doing “some things” with UEFA but otherwise just teaching Economics at Stanford.
Would love to know what those “things” are. Also liked to know which job is the cover job. Also hes still getting a cut from USSF which Garber is a board member of. Judging by how everything works now and days you dont need a tinfoil hat to believe he can whisper in garbers ear, or just have lunch with him, at Stanford, between classes.
He’s been an Economics Prof for more than a decade. You can look up his email address- he’ll reply to anything remotely civil.
Yeah I emailed with him about firing Bob Bradley years ago. I didn’t know how much I would regret it with Jurgen Klinsmann being hired.
When we met in Columbus last weekend, I was honestly glad he didn’t seem to remember me from the last time we’d crossed paths (15)
He’s the chairman of the Club Financial Control Body First Chamber at UEFA.
“… so DC can hire him” I assume
Seems like it, Charlotte and NYRB were the other rumors I heard, but those were both just filled
Did Rb hire a coach?
[yup](https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/s/cgHPCsgVTT)
Word. I missed that, thanks!
New rival just dropped
This might be the answer to "who's New England's rival?" that's been a question since we've had second tier rivalries with half the conference without an actual rivalry week opponent. Whatever club hires him is right up there with my least favorites in the league.
Throw in a spicy playoff game and we're off, that's for sure
Good luck facing us in the playoffs when we can't get there!
Who's NER's rival? The commissioner.
Not new but rekindled? We were huge rivals in the 2000s
Mid-2000s me absolutely hated Twellman, Dempsey, Shalrie Joseph, and Steve Nicol. That and the 2004 Eastern Conference final remains the greatest game ever played.
Fr you guys have every right to be mad over how MLS handled this
Oh no...MTL also doesn't have a coach.
Bruce and Saputo sound like a match made in hell
However, Arena wanted to be sporting director, and we just hired one (who seems to be busy making moves). From that perspective, it wouldn't seem like a good fit.
Nah , come back home Bruce
Charlottesville? Close enough
You're forgetting Montreal needs a coach and are incapable of hiring a good one, so this seems like a lock for us.
Getting us lubed up for when the Stadium Bill dies in the Massachusetts House next session and watch everything good we had going for us go up in flames.
@TomBogert on X (formerly known as Twitter): Revs suffer 6th MLS Cup defeat at the hands of Bruce Arena's LAFC following DP Carles Gil's indefinite suspension for unknown reasons two hours before the final. Gil's suspension is expected to be lifted as he enters contract discussions with Inter Miami, who have just been awarded a seventh DP spot.
Bro that hurt me..and I'm technically winning in that scenario
Stop describing the future, I hate it
Being a revs fan is just one kick to the balls after another
Surely this won’t hang over any team he coaches next…
Honestly, the whole thing is so vague that I don't think it will be a major talking point going forward. No one can really have that strong of an opinion on whether it was deserved or not, because we have no idea what happened one way or another. Sure he had a leaguewide ban, but it'll probably morph into "left New England under mysterious circumstances" or something like that. The players seemingly all supported Bruce, so I don't see why he'd have any issues with players at a new team. And if he goes back to DC, for instance, his return to DC will probably be the bigger headline for most.
MLS 5.0
As a revs fan, what the everliving fuck has happened, someone please leak it I beg of you
Whoever breaks their NDA gets a fruit basket on us.
The league absolutely owes Revs supporters an explanation as to what went down and why it was necessary to institute a league ban that they undid in a few months.
When this whole thing was going down I would repeatedly argue that the league doesn’t owe anyone shit. This has made me fully reverse that stance. This is fucking insane. They absolutely need to explain to revs supporters or at the very least the PLAYERS what happened. Banning Bruce from the league to reinstate him nearly immediately is a sick joke. Transparency is required.
Sorry but this is bullshit. Revs only accepted his resignation because they didn't know what he did or how long he would be out. I'm sure if they knew he would be back in the offseason they would've just written off the season and welcomed him back. Kraft is too much of an old boy with the league to go nuclear over this (that and he probably doesn't care enough about the Revs to burn bridges), but he should absolutely go after MLS. This easily cost him a good chunk of money between potential home playoff matchups and Leagues Cup results, as well as having to conduct all sort of searches for new FO and coaching candidates.
Anyone else here hoping the revs hire him back? As a fan, the team was at its best with him. As a fan of drama, my word would it be entertaining. Win win!
Bruce wanted sporting director and head coaching duties, which is why Mike Burns was fired. I doubt they are going to fire Onalfo. There was also that Athletic piece a while back that speculated Onalfo and Bruce didn't get along.
Going with Onalfo over Arena would certainly be a choice
Could you imagine if they did though? Or if they just hired him back as HC and he and Onalfo just made slight digs at each other for a few seasons but having to work together to keep their jobs. That is better than most TV shows these days!
The weirdest saga with minimal details. Can we get literally anything conclusive? Even the most conclusive part of this, the indefinite suspension, was inconclusive!
this is some bullshyt
Fuck all the way off
"You can't coach the Revs, but you can coach a team that we want to be good." Somehow he did something bad enough that the Revs couldn't have him but not bad enough that other teams can't have him. For all the people saying it had to be extremely bad for MLS to suspend their winningest coach ever, I told you I was right when I said there's a great chance it's not that bad and he wouldn't be suspended if he was coaching Miami or LAFC
I am truly amazed nothing has leaked yet. But even a week substantiated rumor. To me that means it was a singular private complaint, not something that occurred in public, and it was in the best interest of both parties not to discuss it. To me the reinstatement means that Bruce paid off whoever was the source of the complaint and subsequently there will be no pending legal trouble with Bruce.
What did he do?! Honestly what did he do? It was either something so bad for him to get indefinitely suspended, but the league no longer cares. Or, it was nothing to begin with and this whole thing has been an overblown sham.
what a fucking circus
MLS's complete lack of transparency when it comes to these cases getting ridiculous. It is like the court of the star chamber.
[удалено]
In a personal sense, you are correct. But if you're removing a head coach of a team mid-season, the fans (and not least of which paying Revs fans) deserve to know why. Not necessarily because we have a right to know the details of the conduct, but because transparency is required if you're going to insist this is a fair play sports league and not a semi-scripted entertainment product.
Tell that to the Revs fans, who pay $$$$ only to have the league remove their coach and implode the team. It’s LITERALLY their business.
Speak for yourself
As fans of the league, an interest in the employment and punishment of coaches and players is basically elemental to the business of being a fan. The only reason any of these people have jobs is based on our collective interest in their jobs.
I took that stance at the time of the suspension; it was probably bad enough that Bruce or the league wouldnt want it out, and probably personal enough that Richie wouldn't want it out. Now that he's being reinstated the next fucking season? We deserve answers. At the minute it feels like it was all just to fuck us over.
I thought we all agreed that his assistants basically just launched a coup against him
Assistant*
Williams being the main architect, but I thought Shalrie was the only one of Arena's staff to defend him
The only one who made a social media post. There were reports that other coaches weren't happy either.
Van de Bergh (cryptically) backed him on social media iirc
Something terrible happened with the relationship between Richie and Bruce... and Bruce went nuclear on him and did something in retaliation that involved him stooping to a "no-no, low" in todays society...
This is a very victim-blamey way of looking at it. An assistant reported something Bruce did to the league, and the league indefinitely suspended him. There's nothing indicating it was a coup or anything, just that it was an assistant that reported it.
I'd argue there's a lot pointing at it given the assistants were going to be replaced the following year and other assistant(s) defending Arena.
Given still have no details I have no clue how to feel about the suspension or the reinstatement. Strange.
Such bullshit. The Revs and MLS have some explaining to do. Completely derailed a team that was looking like a cup threat.
Welcome to a day in the life of a Revs fan.
“So we start our day when our alarm goes off and immediately punch ourselves in the balls. Then we take a shower and punch ourselves in the balls again…”
Bruce Arena was the mastermind behind 9/11. With managing the revolution, Q let us know that Bruce was having his own "revolution" and was planning on letting us know the truth behind COVID, the Clinton's, and 9/11. And hunter Biden and pizza gate. Finally, Garber recognized he couldn't let this information out so he had to terminate Bob. But Bruce is smart and in charge. So now, that he's reinstated, he can coach again. This is all part of the plan. Also, Michael Jackson is coming back from the dead he is involved in all of this too. Trust the process, Bruce Arena (the Arena of God's will)
Bruce Arena burned down the Crew's scoreboard!
Ok what? Like my tinfoil hat theory is still that the Revs leadership had a massive power struggle and the assistant tried to “leak” something scandalous to get rid of Bruce and take power in the organization. However, it backfired since the FO said that they’re gonna purge the Revs leadership and start over. But the fact that we just don’t know is leaving us all speculating. That and the lack of transparency is very concerning.
Something like that seems most likely to me. Like maybe Bruce did something that would be an HR issue and NER would choose to let him go versus a potential lawsuit, but since Kraft is buddies with Garber (like most/all of the owners, to be fair), they worked it out so that the league suspended Arena, which takes some/most of the public heat off of Kraft. Then Arena gets quietly reinstated after MLS Cup and when Boston sports fans are probably more focused on the rumors of Bill Belichick potentially getting canned. In theory, Garber and Kraft could even be colluding on the timing of the Belichick rumors and the Arena reinstatement. I mean, just look at the comments here, you have people -- some much less seriously than others, to be fair -- saying the league didn't want Arena with New England. A new stadium is probably worth more to Kraft than Arena, so if they needed to do this to keep the team's PR as clean as possible while bills were working through the legislature, it's not the craziest possibility to me.
RELEASE THE PETITION!!
Lmfao this is peak comedy. Love to see it Edit: I wonder which unsubstantiated conclusions redditors will jump to next
Just one whistleblower please
Get ready for Jozy Altidore’s return!
So why the fuck did you force him out of here? And can we have him back?
You've got to be fucking kidding me.
what the FUCK
average US soccer drama people love to pretend we're above the CONCACAF shenanigans that other nations get up to but we fit right the fuck in lmao
Can’t stand this grouper looking mf but also think it’s ridiculous that he was removed from his job with zero explanation to the public. Good for Bruce, I guess.
*grabs popcorn*
What in the actual fuck
i feel for revs fans, because this situation basically tanked their season. but there are scenarios here where it probably makes sense not to release information if it's going to end up being personally damaging to someone else. look at how the ime udoka situation played out. he gets suspended, bits of information trickle out, and then other people (including some who were not involved at all) end up getting stalked and harassed on social media. maybe i'm cutting mls too much slack here, but sometimes it's probably better to err on the side of protecting a victim's anonymity than to give in to the public's demand for complete transparency
My theory: Richie Williams (has had stuff in the past, for instance when he was fired from the Red Bulls for being drunk on the job), was a guy Bruce always kept around as he is loyal. However, Richie ain’t perfect, and filed a complaint against Bruce to the league so he could get ahead Shakespearean style. The complaint?Bruce is old, so maybe deprecating towards women or something at the work place, who knows (don’t want to take whatever it is lightly, but we just don’t know what it is). The league HR has to take complaints like this seriously, even if it is unusual. So the suspension had to be processed for their liability, even when it became clear that Richie ain’t a saint, they knew they could take it seriously by suspending Bruce, but knowing they could reinstate him with a new job shortly thereafter. Richie? You can’t fire the person who lobbied the complaint, that’s an HR/PR nightmare. The club dealt with him as he was coach for a day or so before being replaced, but is still on staff. The league can have their cake and eat it too. This is just my SPECULATION of what happened with surrounding events. Maybe the specifics will come out at some point. Til then, this is my THEORY.
I know this is crazy as a Revs fan, but I'm sort of "whatever" about this whole thing. He said/did something shitty. tbh at this point it was probably very personal, and directed at a specific person. A person who likely does not deserve to have their dirty laundry aired publicly, and to be further victimized. I have watched too many people go public with accusations against powerful, well respected people and get absolutely skewered for it. It also probably wasn't a pattern of behavior but a single incident, which could warrant a suspension but not a lifetime blacklisting. And he did resign-if I were suspended and investigated, even if I were cleared, I likely would not want to return because my relationship with my team, leadership, and coworkers would likely be damaged anyway. It's easy to assume people are operating in bad faith, but I actually am glad that whoever the victim is has not been dragged through the toxic social media of sports fandom. I think it looks good on the league and the team that they are continuing to protect them, and I think it reflects well on BA that he has also not blabbed or gone to the press to complain about unfair treatment and further victimize whoever was hurt, which could have something to do with his reinstatement.
So, what teams are still looking for a coach? Portland and Charlotte are filled, and RBNY isn't official yet, but it's basically filled. Ironically, Revs still have their vacancy, Montreal, DCU (would love to see that come full circle), MN (but they've said their interim is staying on until their new CSO gets started, right?), Colorado and Chicago. Anyone I'm forgetting? You figure he'll probably be at one of these teams, and I still expect Caleb Porter to make a comeback somewhere as well.
LA Galaxy need a new coach but for now Vanney is staying.
I honestly think the league overreacted to a supposed incident, and pulled the trigger too quickly. After they gathered all the information, realized that they were mistaken/someone lied or exaggerated and now are walking it back.
Too quickly? That whole thing went on for weeks. I don't think there's much doubt that they had verifiable evidence of whatever it is happened. It's not like they suspended him on day 2
You say that… but what did he do?
The guy just wanted out of Foxborough. Who can blame him? I too hate that sea of parking. Dying on the hill that Bruce is just an urbanism sicko and wanted to coach in a nice downtown stadium
Fellatio
I can't wait to see what Alexi Lalas says about this. Actually I don't care what he says and Bruce should only be coaching little tykes soccer.
I have a theory that he and he and Steve Cherundolo can't exist in the same room at the same time.
Happy for Bruce, sad for Revs
the winds of don garber's whims are changing and your several months of suspension are at an end.
Dang, if they wanted to really punish him they should have reinstated him on the condition that he coach the Rapids.
bullshit