Coach Says Major League Soccer Is Liable for Clubs’ Racial Bias

Major League Soccer is liable for its member teams’ discriminatory hiring practices, a Black professional soccer coach said in support of his civil rights claims stemming from his failure to obtain employment in the league.

The actions of the clubs are attributable to MLS because of the structure of the league, plaintiff Ricky Hill said in a filing Tuesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Each club within MLS is owned by the league and operated by an investor that is a member of MLS, Hill said.

“Although MLS attempts to distance itself from the ...