D.C. United players Taxi Fountas and Nigel Robertha have been placed on paid administrative leave for “possible violations of league policy,” the team announced.
The team’s brief statement issued Friday night did not cite specifics behind the suspensions. The Athletic reported that during a recent training session, Fountas — who is Greek — was accused of making a racist statement toward Robertha, who is Black. Robertha, 25 then reportedly physically assaulted Fountas after hearing the slur.
“D.C. United promptly reported the matter to the League Office at which point MLS began to gather all available information,” the team’s announcement stated. “The players will be unavailable for team activities during the pendency of that review.”
Fountas, 27, was accused of using a racial slur last season. Inter Miami’s defender Damion Lowe, who is Black, accused Fountas of using a racial slur during their Sept. 18 matchup. MLS officials investigated the complaint and found it “credible” but because they couldn’t independently verify the allegation or obtain direct proof, they did not take any action.
At that time, Fountas denied the accusation, writing on Instagram that he “did not use the word I am being accused of using.
“That despicable racial slur is one I denounce and did not use. We had a hot discussion on the field, but I have not racially abused anyone. I firmly reject racism in any form, it is despicable. I have many friends from many cultures. I always respect the culture, religion and skin color of each person, I am therefore very upset by this accusation and saddened to be falsely accused.”
In D.C. United’s statement about the most recent incident, the team said, “Placement on paid administrative leave is not a disciplinary measure.”
Fountas has six goals in 17 games and Robertha has scored one goal in seven games this season for D.C. United, which is in ninth place in the MLS Eastern Conference with 30 points.
The move by D.C. United to place the players on paid administrative leave follows the firing on Thursday of their athletic trainer, identified by multiple media outlets as Reade Whitney. The team said in a statement that he was let go following a gesture he made in a photo.
“This termination is the result of an internal review following the discovery of a discriminatory hand gesture made by the individual that surfaced in a photograph published across social media platforms on July 20, 2023,” the team statement said. “There is no place for racism, homophobia, misogyny, or discrimination of any kind in our sport and world and D.C. United do not tolerate any acts of this nature.”
The Washington Post reported the photo was taken at an MLS All-Star Game training session, a person familiar with the decision said Friday.
The team statement did not refer to Whitney by name.
–Field Level Media
