How to counter a homophobic slur: Score the game-winning goal
San Jose forward Alan Gordon - who not that long ago played for Jurgen Klinsmann on the U.S. national team - taunted Portland's Will Johnson with a homophobic slur amid a scrap in the second half.
Sunday night's Portland Timbers-San Jose Earthquakes game was a quite testy affair.
There weren't as many cards dished out as we saw at PPL Park, but three yellows and a red was plenty amid 19 combined fouls.
The biggest infraction, though, was of the verbal kind.
San Jose's Alan Gordon - who played in a World Cup qualifier for the U.S. national team last year - taunted Portland's Ryan Johnson with a homophobic slur amid a scrap during the second half.
Major League Soccer has taken a hard line on homophobia, suspending players for three games whenever they've been caught using such language.
So for as bad as Gordon's insult was, it was pretty funny to see Johnson respond by flashing three fingers at him.
Gordon got the message, and later apologized for his words. It's a pretty safe bet he'll be getting another message from MLS headquarters soon enough.
In the 67th minute, Gordon was sent off for the last of a string of harsh fouls he committed during the game. Then, in the 78th minute, Johnson delivered the ultimate riposte to Gordon's night of antics: