Carli Lloyd provides behind-the-scenes examples of USWNT ‘entitlement’

Carli Lloyd has continued to peel the curtain back behind the stunning collapse of the U.S. Women’s National Team.

Lloyd appeared on her Fox Sports colleague Alexi Lalas’s podcast earlier this week, and was asked about some of the factors she observed both as a member of the team and now as a media pundit that contributed to the team’s sluggish performance at this year’s World Cup.

“When I first got onto the team, there was just a level of respect for everyone there — for coaches, other players, support staff … massages, trainers, doctors,” Lloyd began.

“And as the years have kind of gone by, it’s little stuff, but it kind of amounts to big things, and ultimately affects [performance] on the field.”

Lloyd had forecasted some of the issues with the USWNT after they celebrated a 0-0 tie with Portugal to narrowly escape the group stage.

The USWNT fell to Sweden in the round of 16 in penalty kicks.

On Lalas’ podcast, Lloyd continued to provide glimpses of seemingly minor obnoxious behaviors that cascaded, ultimately breeding a sense of entitlement around some members of the team.

“If you’ve got a massage, for example, your name’s signed up at a certain time, and you decide to not show up, and decide not to text the massage therapist, or tell them, ‘Hey, I’m running a few minutes late.’ They’re just sitting there and they have to just sit there, and swallow it, and not really say anything to the player that’s done that,” Lloyd continued.

“There’s just things like that. It’s like trash around the field. It’s throwing your warm-up [apparel] and expecting the equipment guy [to pick it up].

“There’s a level of — I guess not everybody — but a level of entitlement, that I guess everyone’s gonna do everything for you and just not being respectful of others. That starts at the top. That should be the coach, that should be the leader, and it should funnel on down to the players.”