Walking out on teammates normally would earn an athlete in any American professional league a huge mark of shame.
Who can forget Milton Bradley packing up and taking off on the Mariners midgame in 2010? Players in most big-time sports here just don’t tolerate teammates bolting on them. Fans certainly are not inclined to put up with it, some even questioning the team loyalty of NFL players such as Jay Cutler when they miss games due to injury.
But soccer is a different animal. When left back Joevin Jones abandoned the Sounders, without permission, right before last week’s game against Vancouver to play in a “friendly’’ match for Trinidad and Tobago, the first instincts of his team weren’t to immediately lash out or discipline him.