Major League Soccer (MLS) is blazing a trail in professional sports by incorporating an innovative restorative approach to promote cross-cultural education and accountability for discriminatory incidents on and off the field. 

l-r: Victor Ulloa, MLS players association player relations manager and former player; Eric Harrington, general counsel, MLS players association; Maryland Carey Law Vice Dean Deborah Eisenberg

The move was partially inspired by the scholarship of University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law Vice Dean Deborah Eisenberg, JD, who is 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, Major League Soccer was experiencing discriminatory incidents, with a 2022 catalyzing event in which one player called another a derogatory word during a game. Players and, eventually, league executives concluded the disciplinary procedure the league had in place 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,” 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’s 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 Major League Soccer. Eisenberg’s recommendations also aligned with changes that players like Victor Ulloa, then a member of the Inter Miami CF team, felt 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 various 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,” said Harrington. “Once they got past that we got to work.” 

The result, developed by the three partners, is a new anti-discrimination policy that Major League Soccer 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 now 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 now 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 within 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,” said Ulloa. "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 this semester for a community Anchor Event where students got to hear first-hand how the vice dean’s work contributed to Major League Soccer’s adoption of restorative justice and the career path Harrington took to become a sports union attorney. The event was co-sponsored by the Center for Dispute Resolution and the student Entertainment and Sports Law Association.