Sports can be so cold.
The New York Red Bulls have traded Lloyd Sam to DC United (of all places!) for an undisclosed amount of allocation money. Looking back to just March of this year— only four short months ago— Sam would be pointed to as one of the most important players for the Red Bulls this season, just as he was last year.
A few suboptimal months later and he’s gone. The worst part about it all is that it makes sense.
Before delving into the rationale behind the trade, let’s take a moment lament the cutthroat nature of sports, especially the volatile tradition of player movement in the MLS.