Simon Jordan has heaped praise on Leeds United midfielder Tyler Adams on TalkSPORT (Tuesday, 10.45AM) after the USA skipper was given an incredibly tricky, and spiky, question to answer from an Iranian journalist on Monday.
Adams, 23, has exuded class both on and off the pitch since Leeds bought the USA international from Leipzig for £20million. The midfielder has starred for Leeds, earning himself fan-favourite status thanks to his aggressive displays.
Hard-working, down to earth, but aggressive. Now in Qatar, Adams has also impressed – even with the added weight of the captain’s armband. The Leeds ace has started and finished games against Wales and England, avoiding defeat.
USA now have the chance to qualify for the last 16. They need to beat Iran, and will be favourites to do so. But ahead of the game on Monday in a press conference, he was quizzed about discrimination and racism in his home country.
He asked if he felt pride to represent a nation that still has issues such as these. The Iranian journalist also told Adams that he was pronouncing Iran incorrectly – but Adams gave a measured, intelligent, mature response to the question.
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Jordan heaps praise on Leeds midfielder Adams, after journalist’s question
Ex-Crystal Palace owner and TalkSPORT pundit Jordan joined Andrea Radrizzani and Gary Lineker in praising Adams. He was critical of the journalist, branding the question as “unfair”, applauding Adams as “handling himself well”.
“He handled himself well. It is unfair to put young men in those situations – for journalists to use Adams to benefit their own cause. A smart young man. The primary reason we are here, is the World Cup – not the geo-political landscape.”
It was beautifully handled by Adams. Jordan makes a superb point, which is that players should not be posed questions such as these. They are not responsible for their country’s political views. Therefore, should not have to answer for it.
Adams put that aside to relate to the question. He answered it from his own experience. For a man of just 23 years of age, he answered the question with incredible nous. As Leeds fans, we should feel extremely proud to call him our own.
