New ‘non-political’ American supporters group vanishes. Probably because of the racism.

Just as quickly as States United SG rose, it fell

As a concept, a “non-political” supporters group is somewhat admirable on its surface.

After all, isn’t sports one of our last refuges in an increasingly political and polarized world? Why let someone’s views outside of soccer get in the way of coming together to enjoy some players kick a ball exceptionally well?

Yes, it may ignore the myriad of ways that the sport and politics have been inextricably linked for generations, but it’s worth a shot. Maybe?

For so many people, sports represents a certain form of escapism from the day-to-day realities of modern life. Perhaps there is a way to thread the needle, including all, offending none, and, yes, Sticking to Sports.

States United SG was nominally created upon this very concept.

The group was founded this month with the credo of “no politics, no bureaucracy” and said that it would bring American soccer fans together in a “unified community.”

There were some issues right off the bat.

In its launch video, the group’s founder only referred to supporting the U.S. men’s national team, ignoring the far more successful (and politically active) women’s team.

Next, some users on social media tried to test the limits of the group’s non-political stance.

States United did maintain some ideological consistency in terms of not allowing either a Pride flag or a Trump flag, but in a way that did seem slightly more welcoming to the latter.

But when the group founder’s social media was examined in greater detail, the mask truly started to fall off.

Among his likes was a video endorsing the so-called “Great Replacement” theory which, well, is maybe not so political as much as it is just very racist.

At this point, the group’s footprint on the internet began to shrink.

Over the weekend, all of its social media accounts had been deactivated. A few days later, its website was gone as well. The group’s founder deleted one X account and made another private.

States United SG appeared to be no more, lasting roughly the length of a Champions League knockout tie.

Once again, it appears that the goal of being completely non-political is akin to walking the world’s tiniest tightrope. In this case, States United didn’t try too hard to hide what it truly stood for. Just as quickly as it rose, American soccer’s non-political alternative fell in a political stew of its own making.

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