In an emotional press conference to discuss his reinstatement, Phoenix Rising head coach Rick Schantz told reporters that he wants “to be able to help and fight for acceptance for the LGBTQ community.”

Schantz was placed on administrative leave by the club after his touchline confrontation with San Diego Loyal coach Landon Donovan, in which he was dismissive of allegations of homophobia, made global headlines.

Now, Schantz has returned to the job ahead of the Western Conference final.

“I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting, learning, listening, improving as a human being, [and] doing everything that I thought I could possibly do as well as being advised,” Schantz said. “Then, I think after the guys went to Reno and the ownership said, ‘Hey, you know, this will be our biggest platform.’ And for me, it was a little scary, to be honest, because I think the easiest thing to do would have been to wait until next year, and maybe they just sweep it under the rug, people forget, but that’s not what this club is about.

“I’m very, very proud of the strength that our ownership has, and the willingness to say, ‘Rick, we want to give you this platform to make change and to show that not only have I changed, but that the club, we don’t have a systemic problem in our organisation. We support the LGBTQ community and I get to now have this stage for a week to really make an impact.”

Rick’s return to the touchline was backed by openly gay San Diego player Collin Martin, who Schantz says has been in touch via text message.

“Healing for myself, I think, is to reach out to the people that I affected the most,” Schantz said. “Not only did I reach out to Collin and Landon [Donovan], but I reached out to a lot of our supporters who had said things on whether it’s Twitter or Facebook, I reached out to them directly because I knew that they were angry and upset, and those are the people I needed to hear from. Those are the people I needed to let know that I want to understand and I want to learn.

“What I used to believe and what I used to think I thought I was a good person. I thought that it was okay. And you know, my mom had gay friends. I had gay friends. Everyone says that.”

A visibly emotional Schantz choked up as he approached the topic of his family.

“My wife was alright,” he said. “She was very supportive. I love her and I’m thankful. My daughter was scared, you know? Is Dad a bad person? But she’s more mature than I am. She’s grown up. She’s far more accepting than I am, and I have to learn from from her and from today’s society and catch up with the times.”

Schantz has been public with his attempts of reconcilliation once placed on administrative leave. However, winger Junior Flemmings has yet to issue any form of public statement since he denied using a Jamaican homophobic slur the night of the San Diego game.

Rising’s coach explained that he had been in touch with Flemmings since then, advising him to stay away from social media and checking in on him psychologically through the immediate aftermath.

“Once I felt that he was going to be alright, he’s a man and he’s going to have to live with his own actions and the consequences,” Schantz said. “Hopefully, he’ll come around some day and take the proper steps.”

Yet desipte his public apologies, it is inevitable that some people will remain uncomfortable with the speed at which Schantz has returned to his post. So what does he have to say to them?

“Well, words don’t mean a whole lot,” Schantz said. “But in order to earn trust back, it takes time, and it takes action, and that’s something that I’m very aware of.”

Schantz told reporters that he intends to continue learning and to engage in other educational initiatives, such as visiting high school soccer teams to talk about the importance of allyship.

“So people that think that maybe it’s not time for me now, I get to be an example,” he said. “I get to be an example for my players. I get to be an example for the staff, for the organisation, and really affect change at Phoenix Rising. That part, I’m proud of.”

 

View the full Rick Schantz press conference below: