WATCH: San Diego Loyals Walk Off Field After Opponent Uses Anti-Gay Slur At Collin Martin

During Wednesday’s night game between the San Diego Loyals and  Pheonix Rising, the Loyals walked off the field during the game after a Phoenix player reportedly directed a gay slur toward openly gay player Collin Martin. The Loyals ended up forfeiting the game in protest, but it has not been recognized in the league’s record book. The USL is reportedly investigating the incident.

“We are aware of the alleged use of a homophobic slur in tonight’s match between San Diego Loyal SC and Phoenix Rising FC,” the league said in a statement. “Foul and abusive language of any type has absolutely no place in our society and will not be tolerated in USL matches. An investigation is currently underway to determine the facts surrounding the incident and more information will be provided as soon as it is available.”

This is a bad look for the league, especially since the Loyals had a controversy during their previous match against Galaxy II when player Omar Ontiveros reportedly directed the N-word towards Loyals player Elijah Martin. Loyals’ coach Landon Donavan spoke to the referees about the situation and eventually led his team off the field. After the game, he expressed that he was proud of his players for sticking up for what they thought is right. “Our guys, to their immense credit, just said, ‘We’re not going to stand for this,'” Donovan said in the video. “They were very clear in that moment that they were giving up all hopes of making the playoffs, even though they were beating one of the best teams in the league handedly. But they said that doesn’t matter, there’s things more important in life and we have to stick up for what we believe in. And so they made the decision to walk off.”

Article by Nico Ribadeneyra