A day after denying that he directed a homophobic slur at an opponent during a USL soccer game, Phoenix Rising FC midfielder Junior Flemmings was placed on leave by the club on Friday amid an ongoing investigation into the alleged incident.
Coach Rick Schantz also took leave on Friday, but on another matter, the club said in a statement.
Flemmings's situation unfolded at the end of the first half on Wednesday night in the moments before the Loyal's Collin Martin received a red card while speaking with a referee.
During that discussion, Martin, who came out as gay in 2018, maintained that an opposing player had called him a homophobic slur.
Martin's red card was subsequently rescinded by the referee.
On Thursday, Flemmings denied using the slur and offered his support for the LGBTQ+ community.
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A day after denying that he directed a homophobic slur at an opponent during a USL soccer game, Phoenix Rising FC midfielder Junior Flemmings was placed on leave by the club on Friday amid an ongoing investigation into the alleged incident. Flemmings's situation unfolded at the end of the first half on Wednesday night in the moments before the Loyal's Collin Martin received a red card while speaking with a referee. During that discussion, Martin, who came out as gay in 2018, maintained that an opposing player had called him a homophobic slur. Martin's red card was subsequently rescinded by the referee. On Thursday, Flemmings denied using the slur and offered his support for the LGBTQ+ community
Phoenix Rising's Junior Flemmings denied the accusations in a statement released Thursday
'At no point did I say a homophobic slur towards Collin Martin,' Flemmings said in a statement posted Thursday on Twitter. 'I do not know Collin personally, but I respect all of my opponents equally, Collin included. I stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ movement.'
The San Diego club is co-owned and coached by Landon Donovan, the joint all-time-leading goal-scorer in US men's national team history.
At the start of halftime, Donovan spoke with officials and Schantz, demanding that Flemmings be removed from the game. After the Loyal came back out for the second half and saw Flemmings was still in the game, the San Diego players all took a knee when the whistle blew, then walked off the pitch a few seconds later.
'The player unfortunately was not removed from the match by the official or their team, and so our only course of action was to walk away,' Donovan told CBS News.
Landon Donovan and San Diego Loyal walked off the pitch after an alleged homophobic slur
At the start of halftime, Landon Donovan spoke with officials and Rising coach Rick Schantz, demanding that Flemmings be removed from the game. After the Loyal came back out for the second half and saw Flemmings was still in the game, the San Diego players all took a knee when the whistle blew, then walked off the pitch a few seconds later
After additional investigation, the Rising released the following statement Thursday night:
'Phoenix Rising FC and USL's investigation into the events surrounding yesterday's match with San Diego Loyal SC are fully underway. In furtherance of the investigation, our players and head coach participated in extensive interviews with the USL today.
'Until the investigation is concluded by the USL, Phoenix Rising midfielder Junior Flemmings will be taking an administrative leave so that he may focus fully on cooperating with the investigation. Additionally, and unrelated to USL's investigation, Head Coach Rick Schantz will also be taking administrative leave. Phoenix Rising FC is actively anti-homophobia and anti-racist and has a zero tolerance policy for actions which run contrary to these core values.'
Earlier Thursday, Martin tweeted his own statement, explaining that the term that was used is Jamaican slang that translates to a homophobic slur in American English.
The 24-year-old Flemmings is from Kingston, Jamaica, but has denied using the slur since the middle of Wednesday's game.
Omar Ontiveros was released by the LA Galaxy II on Saturday after using a racial slur in a game against San Diego last month
'Flemmings came over and told me that he knew of my "situation" (I'm an out gay man) and that he didn't call me a slur,' Martin wrote. 'At this point it is clear to me he was backtracking and attempting to deny what he said. Why would he say that slur to me if he knew I was gay?'
Martin also said that he was given the red card because, as he explained to the referee what Flemmings allegedly called him, the referee became confused and thought Martin called the referee a homophobic slur.
In his statement, Martin then thanked his team for supporting him.
'Their collective decision to walk off in solidarity and forfeit the match speaks volumes of their support for me and what this organization is standing up to,' the statement read, in part. 'Ultimately, I hope this can be another example that we have a long way to go in educating ourselves and kicking hate out of the game.'
San Diego was involved in a similar incident back on September 23 when LA Galaxy II defender Omar Ontiveros used a racial slur against the Loyal's Elijah Martin, a Black player. The Loyal earned a point for a draw in that game, but two days later the club announced it would forfeit that point. Ontiveros was released by the LA Galaxy II on Saturday.
'We went through a really hard incident last week in the LA match and we made a vow to ourselves, to our community, to our players, to the club, to USL, that we would not stand for bigotry, homophobic slurs, things that don't belong in our game,' Donovan said Wednesday night in a video posted to social media after the match, adding that the team's biggest regret from the Galaxy II incident was not taking a stand at the moment the slur was used.
The Galaxy II's win on Wednesday, combined with the Loyal deciding to forfeit the match against the Rising, officially eliminated San Diego from postseason contention.
San Diego was involved in a similar incident back on September 23 when LA Galaxy II defender Omar Ontiveros used a racial slur against the Loyal's Elijah Martin (pictured right, defending Flemmings in a 2019 USL game). The Loyal earned a point for a draw in that game, but two days later the club announced it would forfeit that point. Ontiveros was released by the LA Galaxy II on Saturday
