Wanda Haskel
University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law Vice Dean Deborah Eisenberg, JD, gave Major League Soccer (MLS) an assist when it was looking to kick back against discriminatory incidents on and off the field.
MLS has incorporated an innovative restorative approach to promote cross-cultural education and accountability, blazing a trail in professional sports. It was a move partially inspired by the scholarship of Eisenberg, the Piper & Marbury Professor of Law and faculty director for Maryland Carey Law’s Dispute Resolution Program.
The world’s most diverse professional sports league with 83 nationalities represented, MLS was experiencing discriminatory incidents, with a 2022 catalyzing event in which one player called another a derogatory word during a game. Players and league executives eventually concluded that the league’s disciplinary procedure wasn’t working.
“It wasn’t bringing healing. It wasn’t remedying the wrongs. It certainly wasn’t preventing discrimination,” said Eric Harrington, general counsel for the Major League Soccer Players Association. “So, we decided we needed another way.”
Harrington’s search for a new game plan led him to Eisenberg’s 2016 article, “The Restorative Workplace: An Organizational Learning Approach to Discrimination,” which was published in the University of Richmond Law Review.
An expert in dispute resolution, employment law, and restorative justice, Eisenberg explores how the “victim-villain” paradigm (which Harrington recognized in MLS’ organization) often fails to correct the complex, nuanced causes of workplace discrimination and can even exacerbate the problem. She offers an alternative approach using restorative practices, which engage everyone in the organization with a sense of ownership in and commitment to the mission of building an inclusive, egalitarian workplace.
For Harrington, the article proposed a solution he thought could work for MLS. Eisenberg’s recommendations also aligned with changes that players like Victor Ulloa, then a member of the Inter Miami CF team, thought would be more effective. Also on the players association executive board, Ulloa and his colleagues pushed the union to negotiate with the league for a policy that would enable players to work through conflicts together, promote accountability, and create a path to re-entry for those who had committed harms.
Harrington contacted Eisenberg at the law school about the problems MLS was experiencing and asked how restorative practices might be implemented. She and colleagues at Maryland Carey Law’s Center for Dispute Resolution provided guidance about the underlying restorative justice concepts and connected him with resources to explore next steps.
But first, Harrington needed buy-in from the league.
It wasn’t an easy sell.
He joined forces with Brook Gardiner, the league’s senior vice president of labor strategy, and an organization within the league called Black Players for Change. Together, they persuaded MLS that the changes would be a win-win.
Eisenberg’s article, which offers examples of implementation in other employment settings, helped. “It was instrumental in getting [the league] over the hurdle of thinking that they were going to do something that was just too novel,” Harrington said. “Once they got past that, we got to work.”
The result, developed by the three partners, was an anti-discrimination policy that MLS rolled out in February 2024. The first of its kind in professional sports, the policy prioritizes education, prevention, training, and cultural awareness. Offenders and those harmed now have the option to work toward a resolution together with the offender being held accountable and making amends.
The league also debuted the Playing as One intercultural awareness workshop that now is required for all players, coaches, and technical staff. The sessions, facilitated by former players, give participants the opportunity to share their cultures with teammates and learn how to avoid insensitive or inappropriate behavior.
Ulloa has retired from pro soccer and works for the players association as player relations manager. He said the new policy and programming have been highly effective. Not only are discriminatory incidents way down, but the bonds among the players are actually strengthened, which is a key to success for athletic teams.
“It gave the guys the opportunity to come out and have accountability, and it gave them a way to be accepted back in the locker room,” Ulloa said. “In sports, bonding and that chemistry is everything, and it translates to winning on the field.”
For her part, Eisenberg is thrilled to see the scholarship about which she is so passionate have a positive impact in the world. “It’s great when someone reads your work,” she said, “and even better when they call you up and say, ‘How do we make this a reality?’ ”
Harrington and Ulloa visited Maryland Carey Law in the spring semester for an event where students got to hear firsthand how the vice dean’s work contributed to MLS’ adoption of restorative justice and the career path Harrington took to become a sports union attorney.
