US women’s striker Sydney Leroux was born in Canada. The 23-year-old from Surrey, B.C. played for Canadian teams until she was in her mid-teens, at which point she moved to the US and decided to represent the America in international competition. As you might expect, Canadian fans have not been pleased with her since.
On Sunday, Leroux scored the third US goal in an eventual 3-0 win in a friendly match against Canada. After netting the dagger, she pointed to the crest on her jersey and made the “shush” symbol to the crowd. Here is the celebration in GIF form, via Eh Game:
It should be noted that Leroux had to listen to boos every time she touched the ball. On Monday morning, she sent a tweet that claimed fans chanted racial slurs at her and said derogatory things about her family.
When you chant racial slurs, taunt me and talk about my family don’t be mad when I shush you and show pride in what I represent. #america
— Sydney Leroux (@sydneyleroux) June 3, 2013
That didn’t stop analysts and Canadian fans from becoming outraged. Sportsnet announcer Craig Forrest called Leroux “classless” and TSN soccer analyst Jason DeVos agreed:
Good on @craigforrest1 for calling it like it is on Leroux – “You can have her.”
— Jason deVos (@jasondevos) June 2, 2013
If anything, the shushing shows that Leroux does not feel sorry about switching nations. Scoring a goal after being booed throughout an entire match would feel good for anyone — even if it means angering the people of your home country.
