Not so sure, but it still has almost 18k views. Clearly I'm not the only one that found the content interesting!
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So the truth finally comes out. A frustrated coach from a team blocked out of NEP.... like all the other Grammy nominees from 1990, go Blame it on the Rain. you was robbed. boo hoo #pvssyOriginally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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We will always fight to make this sport accessible to all kids in need in this country. There is a movement happening.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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"all kids in need" bwwhtthhh - I just spit out my beer.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
Listen closely: There is no market for accessibility, and that movement you see happening is parents leaving the local cartel to pay even more to clubs in national cartels.
Do you understand your business problem now?Comment
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Bwahahaha!!!! Fight to make the sport more accessible? On Talking Soccer? Now that’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard. What else you doing brave person? Ha ha ha.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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This is a story about how a culture of greed and corruption was left unchecked for many years and ultimately destroyed a youth sports club and tarnished youth sports in general.
EVERYBODY WITH A CHILD IN YOUTH SPORTS NEEDS TO READ THIS.
This story reads like Wall Street, Boiler Room, or Wolf of Wall Street, but instead of taking place on trading floors and in corporate board rooms, it is happening on youth soccer fields. This is something that touches every parent in America.
GPS HAS OFFICIALLY IMPLODED, but the whole story has many twists and turns. GPS corporate offices were raided by the FBI and Homeland Security on 10/8/19. Since then, things have spiraled badly out of control. https://twitter.com/THEChrisKessell/...95655540584448
https://www.nesoccerjournal.com/inve...ership-change/
How many of us ever envisioned that Wall Street would try to turn the local youth soccer club into a cesspool of greed, labor abuse, illegal activities, corruption, tax evasion, and otherwise bad behavior? This is so shocking that US National Players are alarmed and speaking up against GPS: https://twitter.com/hopesolo/status/1223284709825957888
https://twitter.com/TaylorTwellman/s...18140407222272
Before you react and say that this is just another angry parent bashing GPS because their kid didn’t make the team, please know that you are 100% wrong. The aim here is simply to get the truth out on the table. If you love soccer and/or your kids love soccer, then you need to know what is happening on fields across the country. I have children that play soccer, but they have never played for GPS or even attended one of their tryouts. I don’t have a grudge. I just love soccer and desperately want it to succeed in our country, and it unquestionably needs to be said that we as a soccer nation are so badly on the wrong path.
This is a tragedy for everyone involved, including coaches, players, their families, and the beautiful game itself. Soccer connects people from all around the world and each nation has its own soccer culture. In the US, our soccer culture is, unfortunately, increasing linked to greed, money, and corruption because of pay-to-play, USSF mishaps, the structure of MLS and other professional leagues (no pro/rel), and now the very bad people at GPS, both past and present. No, it isn't all on GPS, there are many bad things about the soccer system in the US and there are many other bad clubs doing bad things as well, but GPS and its people are a HUGE piece of the problem and it's time we shine a very bright light on this.
A FISH ROTS FROM THE HEAD DOWN.
The statement “a fish rots from the head down” means that leadership is the root cause of an organization’s failure. This is true whether that organization is a country, a Fortune 500 company, or a youth soccer club. An organization's leadership is undeniably responsible for what's broken. There can be no escaping this, and we're not talking about 2-3 people here, we’re talking about the entire leadership team of GPS.
The rot in GPS stems from several factors:
1. A toxic, greed-based leadership culture that started with the founders, JB and PB, and spread to their team of managers. For many years, the culture of GPS has been about abusing low-wage foreign workers, maximizing revenue (i.e. maximizing the amount of money they get from the families of their players), and ignoring immigration, tax, and business laws.
2. A corporate strategy to make maximize profits rather than to develop young soccer players. Every soccer organization has expenses and bills to pay, but if your first priority is to get rich rather than to create beautiful soccer players, then please get out of our sport! We are not another fragmented industry for you to exploit.
3. Ownership by a multi-sport operating company controlled by a HUGE, multi-billion dollar private equity firm that wants to MAXIMIZE RETURN ON INVESTMENT! GPS was purchased in 2016 by Legacy Global Sports, a company whose strategy is to dominate fragmented youth sports industries and is controlled by a massive Wall Street investment fund. What does that have to do with my kids learning how to play soccer?
It can be argued that GPS lost its way (and its soccer soul) permanently when it became part of a massive global multi-sport empire, although many with knowledge of the situation say that it happened long before JB and PB decided to try to cash-in by cashing out. How many of you know (and think it is a good thing) that GPS is owned by Legacy Global Sports, a financial organization with deep pockets that owns a variety of youth sports clubs including hockey, American football, and lacrosse clubs and wants to “roll-up” and acquire a bunch of youth sports organizations across the world because “youth sports is a heavily fragmented industry” and there are significant economies of scale and scope to be cashed in on by owning and combining a bunch of these sports clubs under one large roof. How is that good for children? You’re right. It isn’t. It’s just a way for a very large corporation (and the investment fund that owns it) to reduce consumer options so that they can then drive up prices and dominate the industry from a financial perspective. There is absolutely nothing about this that lends itself to better development opportunities for young soccer players or providing more access to soccer for underprivileged children.
HERE’S A PARTICULARLY JUICY QUOTE FROM THE CEO OF LEGACY:
“WE ARE IN A GOOD POSITION TO BE A LEADER IN A FRAGMENTED MARKET”
- STEVE GRIFFIN, CEO OF LEGACY GLOBAL SPORTS
Wow. Thanks for that, Steve. We really appreciate you thinking about putting the kids first! Why don’t you further limit soccer opportunities in this country. Incredible! Talk about setting us back…
THIS IS ALL THE RESULT OF A BIG STRATEGY TO PREY UPON CHILDREN AND THEIR SOCCER DREAMS BY LIMITING CONSUMER CHOICES IN ORDER MAXIMIZE PROFITS.
Yes, the strategy of GPS and their financial partners, Legacy Global Sports, is based on greed. It has nothing to do with helping children. Children are their TARGETS, plain and simple. If your child is a youth soccer player, GPS has painted a bullseye on the backs of you and your children, whether you realize it or not.
THE OWNERS OF GPS, LEGACY GLOBAL SPORTS, HAVE REVENUE OF WELL OVER $100 MILLION. A VERY LARGE PIECE OF THAT IS FROM GPS!
When you pay your fees each season to GPS did you know you were supporting a greedy sports empire worth a hundred million dollars or more? Here’s a link to some additional info: https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/...any-Watch.aspx
LEGACY GLOBAL SPORTS IS OWNED BY A HUGE NEW YORK INVESTMENT FIRM, JEFFERSON RIVER CAPITAL THAT WANTS TO MAXIMIZE PROFIT AND RETURN ON INVESTMENT. https://massinvestordatabase.com/pub...+River+Capital
How many financial layers are there to this GPS puzzle? It is actually mind-numbing!
The next question is when will GPS partners Adidas and Bayern Munich run away in order to protect themselves from the bad press? Let’s face it, this is a mess and nobody looks good here.
The leadership team that has run GPS for 19 years has created a culture of "profiteering at all cost" based on greed and systemic abuse of employees, labor laws, immigration laws, business and tax laws, and, most importantly, the systemic abuse of its players and their families. This started with the founders, JB (CEO) and PB (DOC), and the team of people they recruited to help them, including AP (National Premier Director), JC (COO), MH (MA Premier Director and GM), MS (Director), JH (National General Manager), and have continued with its parent company, Legacy Global Sports, and their executives, which have controlled GPS since 2016. Make no mistake, nobody has clean hands. Everyone knew what was happening. Some will get scapegoated more than others, but this was a disease that was pervasive throughout the organization. Only those that left the organization before the FBI raid on October 8, 2019 and the subsequent scandal can feel halfway decent about themselves. All the other leaders are wearing a thick layer of dirt, no question.
LEGACY GLOBAL SPORTS SAYS IT WANTS TO CLEAN UP GPS, BUT THEY OWNED GPS SINCE 2016! WHAT TOOK THEM SO LONG? THEY ARE TRYING TO AVOID BLAME AND APPEAR LIKE “GOOD GUYS” BY THROWING THE “OLD LEADERSHIP” UNDER THE BUS, BUT THEY ONLY STEPPED FORWARD AFTER IT BECAME THE ONLY PATH TO SAVING THEMSELVES.
This is the hidden backstory. Yes, JB, PB, and their gang of merry thieves were breaking rules for many years before Legacy Global Sports showed up with their bags full of cash. However, it took them 4 years to recognize what was going on? Really? That is half a lifetime in “big business” right? Everybody at GPS knew what was going on and so did their corporate owners, Legacy. However, when it became clear that the problem was escalating from a legal point of view, the corporate owners rolled over first and scapegoated JB and PB. They were savvy enough to cop a plea so that JB and PB stood alone to face the music with their team of loyal managers. Some of those that committed the worst acts are still at GPS today, including MH. If Legacy truly wanted to clean house they surely did a very poor job.
The big lesson learned here is that all of us need to think and act more carefully in order to protect the interests of our children and the sport we love. If soccer is ever going to truly flourish in the US then we need to protect it from the interests of big business and we need to create a system that aligns all of us in pursuing a common goal: a healthy, strong, thriving soccer landscape that provides ample opportunities for all players of all ages, regardless of their financial wherewithal. If the organizations that we rely on to teach the game to our children do not care about developing players then we have no chance of ever succeeding.Comment
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Yup. He's crazy.
GPS took your ball and left your lil club all alone with no players, and nowhere good to play.
Anyone remember the South Park season with 'Member Berries?
Member when Maple was awesome? I member!
Member when lil clubs could still compete and there were lots of choices? I member!
Member when the big clubs bought the little clubs and coaches got paid? I member!
Member when ODP was legit? I member!
if only we could make youth soccer great againComment
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For those contemplating signing up with GPS, is this the kind of coach or parent (apparently completely devoid of either conscience or ethics) you want your player to be around?Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
While I admit to bemoaning the winning-at-all-costs approach of the big clubs, even I did not imagine that "all costs" including law-breaking.Comment
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Thanks we can make up our own mind. Who listens to anyone here?Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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It's got to the point where, while I acknowledge there were serious issues with the leadership (no longer there), the over the top campaign actually makes them a sympathetic figure. Like, "gee, the must not be all that bad if someone is going to rant all day every day on multiple threads across multiple boards about them. Maybe GPeniSvy guy was right all along."Comment
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You people can fight and insult each other all you want. I don't really care. I am not the original poster but I do think think the information is valuable and people should read it and eventually make their own mind as an informed consumer, which is what I am. Every time you bury it with you absurd comments and trash talk I will just repost it again and again. I hope we understand each other now.Comment
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This IS your IQ level. Scratching your little nuts on the couch watching South Park. No wonder you come off as such a moronic loser!Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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So, for someone who really doesn't care, you certainly seem to be putting in time and effort that shows otherwise....Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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I prefer to call them my little berries.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
In case you are lost, this is TS. It's village with two types of idiots:
The aware idiots who understand this is a village for morons, and laugh with TS
The delusional idiots who think they bring intelligence discourse, that TS laughs at.Comment
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