Black History Month: The Lassiter standard

In 1996, Major League Soccer debuted with 10 teams across the country attempting to show the world that the United States could sustain a domestic soccer league. The league was filled with some of the world’s brightest stars. However, it was a man from North Carolina who would set the gold standard that would last for 2 decades.

Roy Lassiter was born in Washington, DC, but grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was a high school All-American as a kid, leading his team to the high school state championship as a senior and scoring a state record 47 goals. That type of prolific goal scoring would be his calling card throughout his career.

His professional career began in Costa Rica,…