US Soccer Star Tyler Adams Deftly Responds To Mispronouncing Iran

If the U.S. men’s national soccer team handles the pressure against Iran on the pitch as well as captain Tyler Adams did in a press conference on Monday, its World Cup chances will be looking bright.

Adams, 23, defused a potentially tense line of questioning and a scolding from an Iranian reporter with a thoughtful answer that has earned him praise.

First, he was told by the journalist that he has been pronouncing the country’s name wrong, saying “eye-ran” instead of “ee-ron.” Then, the standout midfielder was asked about playing for a country “that has so much discrimination against Black people in its own borders.”

He handled the testy situation with grace, one day ahead of his team’s World Cup showdown with Iran on Nov. 29 that the U.S. must win in order to advance to the next round.

“There’s discrimination everywhere you go,” Adams said.

Adams, a New York native, plays professionally for Leeds United in the English Premier League and has previously played overseas in Germany.

“One thing that I’ve learned, especially from living abroad in the past years and having to fit in in different cultures and kind of assimilate into different cultures, is that in the US, we’re continuing to make progress every single day,” he said.

Adams, whose biological father is Black, then reflected on his own upbringing.

“Growing up for me, I grew up in a white family, and with obviously an African American heritage and background as well,” he said. “So, I had a little bit of different cultures, and I was very easily able to assimilate in different cultures.”

He called for patience and understanding.

“Not everyone has that ease and the ability to do that, and obviously, it takes longer to understand, and through education, I think it’s super important,” he said. “Like you just educated me now on the pronunciation of your country. So, yeah, it’s a process. I think as long as you see progress, that’s the most important thing.”

His response drew kudos from soccer fans.

“Perfectly handled by the USA’s young leader, Tyler Adams,” one soccer club tweeted. “He doesn’t take the bait and instead teaches a lesson in class and respect.”

The feisty press conference came amid the long-running political hostility between the U.S. and Iran as well as a social media post by the U.S. Soccer Federation that angered the Iranian government.

The federation tweeted an Iranian flag without the emblem of the Islamic Republicto show solidaritywith Iranian women demonstrating against the government. Iran fired back that the U.S. should be thrown out of the World Cup.

Gregg Berhalter, the U.S. men’s national team coach, was asked by Iranian reporters about the controversy at the press conference.

“We’re not focused on those outside things,” he said. “All we can do on our behalf is apologize on behalf of the players and the staff, but it’s not something that we are part of.”

The last time the two teams played in the World Cup was 1998, when Iran picked up a 2-1 victory. The U.S. has to beat Iran on Tuesday to advance to the knockout round or they will be eliminated from the tournament.