Gender equity disputes. Proper (or improper) displays of patriotism. Arguments about workplace conditions. Internal squabbling.
These topics are not what most would expect to be the biggest day-to-day concerns for a federation that oversees any kind of sport, but they are, all the same, some of the subjects that have lingered over U.S. Soccer in recent months. And as one might expect, the emotional effect of these contentious issues is not limited to the players and the officials involved.
“People have written to us about X or Y or Z, saying, ‘If this doesn’t change or if you don’t handle this in a certain way, I’m going to stop coming to games,’” Sunil Gulati, the U.