NBA
Why is Carmelo Anthony in court for the $500m NASL lawsuit?
A historic court case involving the North American Soccer League, the US Soccer Federation and MLS continued in New York this week.

The first big-name witness to appear in the ongoing NASL-US Soccer court case will be familiar to basketball fans around the world. Carmelo Anthony spent 19 years in the NBA and is a ten-time All-Star, but he now takes the stand as the owner of a now-defunct Puerto Rican soccer team.
Anthony is one of the expert witness in a court case actioned by the North American Soccer League (NASL). The lawsuit alleges that the US Soccer Federation conspired to give prominence to MLS and squeeze out NASL, forcing its dissolution in 2018. Anthony was the owner of Puerto Rico FC, a NASL team based on the island.
Anthony’s father, Carmelo Iriarte, was Puerto Rican. Carmelo Snr. was a member of the Puerto Rican social justice group Young Lords in the 1960s and ‘70s. Carmelo Jnr. has said that his support for sports on the island is an opportunity for him to support the local community.
What did Carmelo Anthony say in court?
Speaking in court this week, Anthony expressed his desire to help bring soccer to Puerto Rico, saying: “I had an opportunity to revitalize the island, bring sports to the island... This was the route I chose to take to bring something back to my island.”
“I saw happiness, joy,” Anthony said of the team’s impact during those few years in the league. “That’s when I knew I had something that was getting good.”
Anthony went on to recount the commercial and broadcasting links that he had helped to broker using his personal brand and sporting connections. NASL had waived the usual entry fee to allow Puerto Rico FC into the league in return for the chance to benefit from Anthony’s heightened public profile. However the venture was ultimately short-lived and the league was forced to fold in 2018 after US Soccer refused to grant Division II status for the NASL, a decision that is at the heart of the trial.
Anthony gave assured testimony and made clear the impact that the team’s dissolution had had on the local community and sports fans on the island. However he did face some tough questioning from MLS counsel Keisha-Ann G. Gray, who pointed out a discrepancy in Anthony’s comments.
In a previous deposition Anthony testified that Hurricane Maria in 2017 had meant that the team could not return for the 2018 season, not the USSF’s decision to deny Division II status for the league. The 40-year-old insisted that he ”didn’t get a chance to elaborate" in his previous deposition but that point - the exact reason for the league’s failure - hits at the very heart of the ongoing trial.
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