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Yesterday, the Vancouver Whitecaps, a Major League Soccer (MLS) team, shared three photos of first-year players Jackson Farmer and Mitch Piraux on social media. These photos depicted the 19-year old, team residency program graduates with embarrassing haircuts and featured the caption “Be glad you’re not a rookie. #rookiehaircuts #vwfc”. Major League Soccer, an organization that has had to deal with hazing allegations previously, then shared the photo on Twitter, implying that they support such behavior within their clubs.

As we’ve discussed previously, it’s not uncommon for professional sports leagues, their clubs, and the media covering them to turn a blind eye and/or promote hazing behaviors. What is encouraging in this instance, however, is that many Vancouver Whitecaps fans and MLS fans spoke out against hazing and that the vast majority of social media replies were anti-hazing, as illustrated by the responses below:

https://twitter.com/maxlynch/status/568507726109650944

https://twitter.com/becca4kicks/status/568506169377067008

We wholeheartedly and enthusiastically support the efforts of these fans and others who spoke up and let the Vancouver Whitecaps and the MLS know that players should not have to engage in demeaning, embarrassing, or dangerous behaviors in order to be a part of any organization, professional sports or otherwise.