Washington Post · Apr 17, 2024
With minor league team, MLS unveils bold plan to fix diversity problem
The staff of Carolina Core FC, which includes head coach Roy Lassiter, is one of the most diverse in American sports. (Scott Muthersbaugh for The Washington Post)HIGH POINT, N.C. — By the time Eddie Pope was hired as the chief sporting director for Carolina Core Football Club last fall, returning to his hometown to guide its new entry in the MLS Next Pro developmental league, the legendary defender already knew whom he wanted as his head coach: Roy Lassiter, his close friend and former D.C. United teammate during the club’s late-1990s glory years whose coaching career had recently stalled with him as a low-level assistant.