Phoenix Rising fuel doubts about Flemmings future

Phoenix Rising FC General Manager Bobby Dulle says no decision has been made by the club about the long-term future of striker Junior Flemmings.

The Jamaican international's future at the club has been the subject of debate after an allegation of him using a Jamaican homophobic slur against Collin Martin, an openly gay footballer, during Phoenix's United Soccer League (USL) play-off match against San Diego Loyal last Wednesday.

Flemmings, who has strongly denied the allegation, was issued with a six game ban and an undisclosed fine by the USL on Tuesday. He was also placed on administrative leave, like his coach Rick Schantz, by his club, while it carried out its own investigation into the matter. But speculation about Flemmings future with the club continued, especially as his situation is similar to that of another player, Omar Ontiveros.

Racial slur

Ontiveros admitted to using a racial slur against Elijah Martin, a black player, also from Loyal, in a game which took place eight days before Flemmings'. He was issued with the same punishment as Flemmings by the USL, but his club, the LA Galaxy II, terminated his contract.

Dulle said that the club is now only focusing on working with the player to ensure he learns from the experience.

"At this point, what I can say is that his contract expires at the end of November," Dulle said in a press conference hosted by the club yesterday. "We're gonna use these next two months to work with Junior and support Junior and get through this moment and learn from it and educate, not only ourselves, but see how we can take this moment and move forward.

"No decision's been made. We're kind of focused on the moment and supporting Junior through this and there'll be a time when we have to make that decision for when his contract does expire with us at the end of November."

Before the incident, Flemmings, 24 years old, had been making headlines for his regular goalscoring, as his 14 goals in the league this season also earned him the Golden Boot award yesterday. There had been speculation that he was gaining interest from clubs in higher leagues before the allegation. But Dulle said that at the moment, the club is wondering if an opportunity to sell him to a bigger team for a big fee has been lost.

"We haven't been focused on that," he said. "We're taking it step by step. Junior's a really good person. He's a heck of a talent. He's shown that this season and so many other seasons prior to that, so we haven't been really thinking about anything beyond this season. Obviously, we know what we can control as an organisation, prior to this, when his contract expires we're well aware of that.

"His term hasn't changed on our side of things so that will be something that Junior ultimately has to communicate through his agent, as far as his stock goes. But I do know that there has been a lot of support from around the league, from around the national teams that wanna help everyone through this and ultimately learn and get better."

The club says its investigation is still ongoing.