U.S. Men's And Women's Soccer Teams Are Fighting, And Everyone's Going To Lose

Over the weekend, former U.S. women's soccer star Abby Wambach was arrested and charged with a DUI. Naturally, this became an opportunity to criticize her for unrelated frustrations.

In the process, it's opening a divide between the men's and women's U.S. soccer teams -- a division that stands in contrast to the "One National One Team" mantra adopted by both sides.

After Wambach's arrest hit the news, U.S. men's player Alejandro Bedoya took a jab at Wambach on Twitter:

Fellow men's player Jozy Altidore jumped in on the action:

Context is needed here. Bedoya's criticisms stem from comments Wambach made in late 2015, when she said she didn't like Jurgen Klinsmann's strategy of building a men's national team roster with players who have U.S. citizenship but grew up outside of America and came up in overseas systems.

The comments upset a number of dual-nationals on the men's team, including Bedoya, who grew up in France.

Altidore, meanwhile, used the moment to take a swipe at Hope Solo, whose husband got a DUI last year while driving a U.S. Soccer van without authorization. Solo was suspended for the behavior and was forced to make amends with the team, but she proceeded to play in the Women's World Cup without consequence.

And to be clear: Both Solo and Wambach deserve criticism in some form. Solo's domestic violence record is one that raises plenty of questions, and one that U.S. Soccer has failed to adequately address head-on. Wambach, meanwhile, made a terrible decision to drive a car while intoxicated, and should face consequences for her actions.

But the behavior of Bedoya and Altidore seems a bit opportunistic, as if they were waiting for the right moment to cut down two of America's most recognizable female soccer stars. The decision to use Wambach's personal mistake as a means of retaliation for her previous comments makes Bedoya look vindictive more than fair.

Even after taking heat for the personal heat via social media, Bedoya didn't back down -- although he did give Wambach some credit for owning up to her mistake.

These comments from the men's side come at an interesting time. Last week, five female stars filed a complaint against U.S. Soccer calling for equal pay as the men's side for the same amount of work -- particularly in light of the women's side having won three World Cups.

That story isn't going anywhere, and with tensions bubbling between prominent men's and women's players, it could become a stark point of division. Given Bedoya's comment -- not to mention Altidore's tweet, which was a shameless barb thrown at

Solo out of thin air -- it sure doesn't feel like the men's and women's teams are the singular entity they pretend to be. What professional sports team would pretend it stands together even as one teammate delivers low blows to the other via Twitter?

It's entirely fair to criticize Wambach's views on dual-citizen players, although Bedoya might be going too far to label her as xenophobic. Either way, it's a cheap move to use her personal turmoil as a launching pad for a rebuttal.

And if these public-facing comments continue on their current trajectory, it could be a nightmare situation for both sides. As the lawsuit forces women's side to draw comparisons with men, one of two things will happen: Either men's players will come forward publicly and demonstrate their solidarity, or they'll sit back quietly and let the women fight for their rights alone.

Whether that's a product of indifference or disdain, it doesn't really matter. Good teammates have each other's back.