Amid allegations that Real Salt Lake Chief Business Officer Andy Carroll "previously acted in ways and said things that were sexist" specifically related to the NWSL Utah Royals, RSL "proved the two clubs were more connected than they seem," according to Alex Vejar of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. As RSL walked in to Rio Tinto Stadium before their game on Wednesday against the Sounders, the players "wore jerseys or T-shirts with Utah Royals FC insignia." The caption on RSL's official Twitter page read, "Let's be clear, WE appreciate excellence." Sources said that the caption is a "reference to the idea that women should be noticed and appreciated based on merit, not their appearance, which Carroll has previously commented on in inappropriate ways in regards to the Royals." It was a "coordinated effort by the male RSL team to support their female counterparts." To see RSL make a "small yet powerful gesture like that points not only to the character of the players, but also to a repudiation of Carroll's alleged behavior" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 9/4).
