Sydney Leroux’s gloating celebration made her a pariah in Canada, her home country. But maybe we’re missing the point.
She was just celebrating a meaningless goal in a “friendly” match between the Canadian and U.S. women’s national soccer teams. But when Sydney Leroux grabbed the crest on her jersey, pointed to it and shushed the crowd at BMO Field, she clumsily drilled into something big.
Leroux was born in Surrey, B.C., to a Canadian mom and an American dad. She moved to the U.S. while in high school to develop her phenomenal soccer skills. When it came time to choose her international affiliation, she chose the U.S. over Canada, she said, because she wanted to play with the best team in the world. Since then, Canadian fans have called her a traitor, Judas and worse. And with her display at BMO Field, the anger deepened immeasurably.
It’s easy to dismiss this backlash as hypocritical (Canada’s team has a handful of players who were born in the U.S.) or the petulance of a pack of sore losers. But it’s more complicated than that. Over the past generation, this country has changed a lot. Most of us have embraced a very open idea of citizenship. Multiculturalism has diversified our sense of what it means to be Canadian, and most agree this is a good thing. But these changes have brought with them an often-silent anxiety that “Canadian” is becoming a title of convenience—good for free health care, solid schools and safe streets, but easily abandoned at the first sign of a bigger opportunity abroad.
As a nation, we’re pulled in two directions: by our national pride on one hand and our belief in personal freedom on the other. We happily welcome any foreigner who genuinely loves this country and is proud to represent it. And yet, when a Canadian-born player returns in a foreign jersey, we struggle to contain our fury.
It’s time we made peace with both edges of that sword.
It goes without saying that pulling on Canada’s national team jersey is an honour. But it’s also a choice. Sydney Leroux is neither the first nor the last athlete who will forsake our national teams, and that’s okay.
On Canada’s squad that day were 20 women, a few of whom were born in other countries, who’ve given a great deal of their lives to build a national program that Canadians can be proud of. They lost, but I wouldn’t trade the weakest of them for Leroux.
I don’t say that with any malice or spite. Being Canadian is not a prison, it’s a privilege. The door is always open, and the best expression of our national identity is to focus on those who want in, not those who choose to walk out.
This story originally appeared in Sportsnet magazine. Subscribe here.