Robles steps up to help out South Floridians
FORT LAUDERDALE For Luis Robles, being back at Inter Miami CF Stadium on Wednesday felt bittersweet.
As he prepared to assist DeliverLean and the Urban League of Broward County during their first weekly food distribution drive at the MLS expansion team’s new stadium, Inter Miami’s captain reflected on being able to help South Floridians in need while also recognizing how different his career has been the past two months.
“It’s nice to be here, but in a way it’s like a tease,” Robles said about the food drive, which had him at the stadium for the first time in almost seven weeks.
“We’re not actually training, but glad we’re able to help people in community for sure.”
Robles helped put bags of groceries into the trunks of cars belonging to families looking for support during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The time he spent at the food drive helped add to his perspective on the severity of the situation.
“When you look beyond the circumstance of just globally, the context and how there are a lot of people out there that are suffering real grief and pain — it’s almost hard to really conceptualize because I’m over in my little bubble in my community,” Robles said. “At times it’s frustrating because as a competitor you want to compete and play. But then you have to take a step back and realize that soccer is so secondary to the wellbeing of the people in this world, country and community.”
Inter Miami’s season has been on hold since Major League Soccer suspended all of the league’s games for 30 days on March 12 — after the team had played two road games and just two days before its highly anticipated home opener.
The league extended that stoppage in play to May 10, then June 8 after consulting with government officials. The extended the team training moratorium through May 15.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber has said the league is focused on exploring a variety of formats to play the entire 2020 season, which could include pushing back the MLS Cup from November to December, or possibly later.
“Nobody knows,” Robles said about playing a full 34-game season. “I know the league is committed to playing as many games as possible, and if that means we have to explore different ways of competition in different avenues to do it, they’re going to do it.
“Right now it’s about getting as much information as they can so we can make the right decision on when players are allowed to train again with their teams, [in] small groups, and eventually get back to the field.”
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Robles added that he thinks one of the bigger factors that’ll influence when the season will resume is the availability of testing.
“Right now, you have to prioritize where that testing goes, and pro sports is not at the top of that,” Robles said. “Just the people that are really struggling and dealing with a pandemic in a day-to-day situation. Maybe when testing is more readily available and there is a surplus, then pro sports can get it, but testing is a huge thing.”
Robles called the possible scrutiny professional sports league could receive if they
received testing priorities in order to resume their seasons as a “two-edged sword.”
“When you take into context what’s going on, you really want to get back into normal life, and sports are part of a normal life,” Robles said. “Being able to turn on the TV and seeing a live game, it’s a different spirit that’s in the fabric of this country.
“On the flip side, there’s real pain and suffering going on and there are real struggles. People are just trying to find ways to make ends meet and that’s why an event like today is so important. We’re hoping we can make a difference so that the struggle people are experiencing in South Florida can be alleviated in some ways so that we can get back to normalcy. Until then, the priority has to be helping those people.”