‘Communications error’ cited for Caps fan’s ban
Major League Soccer has declared war on the Iron Front symbol.
The three-arrow flag, originally used by Germany’s anti-Nazi Social Democratic Party in 1931, has been co-opted for contemporary use by those who stand against fascism and racism. The MLS says it’s associated with antifa, the name used to describe a militarized farleft political movement.
Vancouver Whitecaps fan Joshua Griffin was caught in the crossfire between the team, the league and supporters groups around MLS that have been flying the logo on their flags for years. The 31-year-old from Nanaimo, who fosters at-risk youth, was told by the Whitecaps’ supporters liaison Thursday morning he’d been banned by the team for the season’s remaining three games for the sign he’d displayed at the last home game.
It said “#AUnitedFront Against Racism, Against Fascism” on one side with the Iron Front symbol on the other. His story, reported by several local media outlets, lit up social media. But later in the day, the Whitecaps contacted him to rescind the ban, citing an “internal communications error” that led to his erroneous ban.
“Unfortunately, we just had an internal miscommunication. The individual was meant to receive a warning for breaching the code of conduct related to the third-party political message on his sign,” Whitecaps COO Rachel Lewis told Postmedia News.
“He should have been advised that a future breach would result in an immediate ban. Unfortunately, that was not the case and we’ve apologized and rectified that.
“The Whitecaps have a really strong commitment to the values of diversity and inclusion and that includes support for anti-fascism and anti-racism. The issue here is that the MLS code of conduct prohibits signs that promote any political organization, candidate or political policy. And the Iron Front flag is associated with antifa, which is considered a political movement.”
On Wednesday, the Portland Timbers banned several members of their supporters group — the Timbers Army — for flying a flag displaying the Iron Front logo, one that had also been previously approved.
The Timbers have used the symbol since 2017, but its use has seen an increase this season in response to the league’s enforcement of a change in its fan conduct policy, which bans any political messaging. A game between the Seattle Sounders and Timbers two weeks ago was the site of a silent, 33-minute protest that made headlines across the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Griffith said he was never informed his sign or any of the others he’d brought to seven previous home games were in violation of team and league policies. He took it down when asked by security during last Saturday’s game at B.C. Place.
The team website lists a fan code of conduct that says all signs that display something other than team, fan group or geographical flags need to be pre-approved before game day and any signs that contain “political or religious messaging” will be confiscated.
It also states that any language that is “racist, homophobic, xenophobic, sexist” will result in a ban.
“No one from the team has ever warned me about my signs, no one from B.C. Place has ever warned me about my signs. … I’ve never been told my signs were political,” he said. “And I don’t feel that they are political. Being against racism and fascism isn’t a political message, it’s a human decency message.”
Further muddling the issue is the fact MLS itself has several campaigns that could be considered political, from Pride Night to the camouflage uniforms teams roll out along with the “Don’t Cross the Line” ad campaign, which is specifically anti-racism and anti-homophobia.
Lewis pointed to the team’s signage policy, which has fans go through an online pre-approval process before having signs screened at Gate G as a way to avoid any issues.
The Vancouver Southsisters, an offshoot of the Southsiders supporters group, had a sign with similar political messaging approved and displayed during last Saturday’s game.
“The (league) policy was put together with input from all of the clubs. Like every policy … some of these things are evolving. It’s always being looked at and reviewed,” said Lewis. “Diversity and inclusion are really core to our organization. If fans wants to bring signs that relay those messages and fits in our policy, we encourage them to (go through the process) and bring those to the game.”
Griffith has been to seven games in Vancouver this season, taking the ferry over and staying overnight, a significant financial outlay.
“I want to go to the games, I want to support the team,” he said before his ban was lifted.
“Since I started being a supporter, it’s been such an amazing time. I leave every game with a smile on my face. Just the atmosphere, being around those people (the fans) and getting to watch some soccer.”
“(I feel) used, confused. What the heck is happening?” he said late Thursday afternoon after being told his ban had been lifted.
“Everyone I’ve ever met from the team has been amazing. They’re super nice, super friendly to kids and adult fanboys like me.”