Pulisic docuseries inflames clash between current, former USMNT players

New York Times

a day ago

Christian Pulisic, his father Mark and his U.S. teammate Tim Weah re-ignited the public spat between current and former U.S. men's national team players in an episode of the 'Pulisic' docuseries released on Paramount+ Wednesday.
Pulisic, in an interview filmed earlier this summer, called criticism of the team's effort and heart 'the biggest cop-out of all time.'
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Weah, speaking about former players-turned-pundits, said: 'I think 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. Those are the same guys that'll turn around and shake your hand, and try to be friendly with you at the end of the day.'
Mark Pulisic, Christian's dad, agreed: 'These guys want clicks. It's social media, it's 'subscribe to my channel, listen to my podcasts,' or whatever.''
The comments rekindle a war of words between generations that picked up steam following the USMNT's losses to Panama and Canada in March. Landon Donovan (now a podcaster and Fox Sports pundit) and Clint Dempsey (now a CBS Sports and Men In Blazers pundit), the top two goalscorers in program history, were among the vocal critics.
'I'm so sick of hearing how 'talented' this group of players is and all of the amazing clubs they play for,' Donovan wrote on X at the time. 'If you aren't going to show up and actually give a s!%* about playing for your national team, decline the invite. Talent is great, pride is better.'
Weah, in an interview for the docuseries, said of the former players: 'Don't get me wrong, I respect all of them. They were the players that I looked up to. But quite frankly, the guys before us didn't win anything either.'
Weah added: 'Christian himself has had a better career than every single one of the guys who speak negative on us.'
Mark Pulisic, who previously inflamed the friction with an Instagram post implicitly responding to criticism from Donovan, said of former players: 'I think they should look in the mirror and look at their last performances for the national team before they start talking s***.
'It's jealousy. People want to be in his shoes, and they'll find any reason to bring him down. But Christian doesn't give a s*** about what anyone says.'
The criticism of Pulisic crescendoed when he opted to skip this summer's Concacaf Gold Cup. Donovan, in the studio for a Fox Sports broadcast of Portugal's UEFA Nations League win over Spain, said during Portugal's emotional celebrations: 'I can't help but think about our guys on vacation, not wanting to play in the Gold Cup. It's pissing me off.'
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Pulisic, in an interview the following week with CBS Sports' 'Call It What You Want' podcast, defended his decision and addressed the criticism.
'You can talk about my performances, whatever you want, but to question my commitment, especially towards the national team, in my opinion, that's way out of line,' he said then.
Pulisic reiterated that sentiment in the docuseries: 'I'd say the most annoying thing, and for me the biggest cop-out of all time, is when especially all pundits want to say, 'They didn't want it, they didn't have the heart. Back in our day we would fight and die on that field.'
'It's frustrating. We haven't had as much success as we would like. I think we have had some really incredible moments. But we're out here fighting. And I think if people knew what it actually meant to me and what it meant to our team and all the players, they would never question us.
'Come after whatever you want. Come after my performance, whatever you want to say, but to talk about my commitment, the commitment that I've given to this game, that I've given to my national team for 10 years – that's the only thing that starts to get on my nerves.'
With several former USMNT stars now prominent in American soccer media, the clash between them and active players could be an ongoing source of noise between now and the 2026 World Cup. Tyler Adams, speaking recently to The Athletic, called the disconnect between current and former players 'the strangest thing.'
'I can't even explain it,' Adams said. 'I'm not a social-media guy, so I don't follow anything, but when people bring up some of the things that are being said and some of the stories that are being created, it feels weird, because it feels like not long ago that every single one of those people were on board with, like, the direction that the federation was going and how well the players were doing. And it feels like any setback is (treated) like a disaster is happening. Do you know what I mean?
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'And that happens in football. I get it. Some people have jobs where their job is to speak about the sport, and if that's their opinion, that's their opinion. My goal is to try to create an environment, especially within our team, where guys feel like they can go out, be themselves, be comfortable. We're all on the same page and want to grow the sport in America. People's opinions are people's opinions at the end of the day.'
His comments triggered former defender and Fox Sports pundit Alexi Lalas. Lalas, speaking on his podcast this week, said of Adams: 'I thought that this was a strangely immature, and naive, and weak kind of take. Not that he's defending Christian Pulisic, because we're all going to do that, but the way he seemed to think that there should be no criticism and we should all be kumbaya.'
The debate had quieted since the Gold Cup. But with European seasons commencing — Pulisic, who missed recent friendlies as a precaution, is preparing for AC Milan's first competitive match this weekend — and the USMNT set to reconvene early next month, it could heat up once again. Mauricio Pochettino's U.S. roster for September friendlies against South Korea and Japan will be released in two weeks.
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