After fan backlash to the signing of controversial defender Laurence Wyke, Phoenix Rising sporting director Brandon McCarthy fully defended the club’s decision-making in an interview with PHNX.

“We spoke to everyone we could, everyone at all aspects of it,” McCarthy said. “People with the league, with Tampa, around Laurence, with Monterey. We went to everyone we could looking for everything, that there was not just smoke, but there was fire. We found nothing.”

In 2022, while with Tampa Bay Rowdies, Wyke was accused of violating the league’s “zero-tolerance policy related to any form of harassment or discrimination on or off the field” after a game against Monterey Bay FC. Initially suspended for 12 games, Wyke’s punishment was dropped on appeal after USL’s independent panel found insufficient evidence to uphold the ban.

“I remember hearing a lot when it happened,” McCarthy said. “Hearing from people and obviously we saw how fast it got thrown out from the league. We did a lot of research into why that was the case. They moved from a 12 game suspension to nothing in minutes.

“As we went through, there wasn’t a lot of credible evidence to be perfectly honest. Monterey searched for one. They asked for people to come out with one piece of corroborating evidence. Nobody found it. Tampa launched a full-throated defense of Laurence, and Laurence started a lawsuit on behalf of himself, and the league obviously quickly through its panel said they got it wrong, and went back on the suspension. We felt very comfortable with it.”

McCarthy also stated that “there was ample video of those moments, and we have all the video on hand, and nothing was racial.”

Defending Wyke at the time, Tampa Bay described the initial decision as a “failed process” in which the league “rushed to a conclusion and issued a statement without providing us the full report.”

“Words and gestures were exchanged,” the Rowdies statement read. “However, we dispute that there was any racial intent behind what Laurence did that evening. There certainly was no racial abuse by Laurence.”

The statement further added that: “Laurence Wyke and the Rowdies are deeply sorry that his gestures mimicking the goal he scored on a header came across as racially insensitive. We recognize the impact of that gesture caused real pain, regardless of the intent. We will do better next time.”

After the suspension was overturned, Monterey Bay FC issued a statement of their own, saying that the retraction of the suspension occurred “despite several individuals reporting visual evidence of the event, including players, club staff members, and an on-duty police officer.”

PHNX has contacted Monterey Bay FC for further comment.

According to McCarthy, the process behind Rising deciding to sign Wyke took place over several months prior to speaking with the defender himself.

“It’s not something that we took lightly whatsoever, and if we didn’t have unanimous sign-off inside our group that this is something that we felt was worth taking on, we weren’t going to take that risk,” McCarthy said. “We obviously understood it doesn’t just represent us and our players, but it represents people inside our building and employees and obviously our supporters and people around us.

“We can’t be attached to something that makes us look shitty and like we don’t care about these important issues. We did all the work that we felt like we needed to do to get to a place where we felt good about the story, at least.”

The group that signed off on the decision to sign Wyke didn’t include the current players, who weren’t consulted prior to the signing. However, McCarthy added that Wyke “wants to address the group, too, if they want him to, and he’ll let them know what happened if these guys are aware of it or are concerned.

“He’s completely forthright in it and will speak to anybody about it, because he’s obviously adamant in his own defense and wants to clear his name.”

Since Wyke’s announcement, multiple Rising fans have taken to social media to criticize the club’s new signing. Supporters group Los Bandidos posted a statement, saying “appalled does not come close to how we […] feel,” and calling on the front office to “do better.”

“We knew it was coming,” McCarthy said. “You don’t know to what level, but we knew there’d be a reaction. That was part of what we talked through, that we’re willing to take that on because we feel completely confident, and so many other people that we trust in and around the league had put their complete reputations on this in terms of there’s nothing here to this.

“So, we went with that. We understand that we could take some heat but allegations, that is what it is. Once you feel comfortable, that once due process was inserted and people quickly found nothing to have happened, that’s good enough. That’s where we feel like we can be confident in this.”

Ultimately, despite the backlash, McCarthy still stands behind the decision to bring Wyke to the club.

“We didn’t have one person in the entirety of the process say to be careful,” McCarthy said.

Top Image: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

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