United States stars Christian Pulisic and Timothy Weah have called out “evil” and “cop-out” criticism from former national team players in a recently released episode of the Paramount+ “Pulisic” documentary.
“I’d say the most annoying thing, and for me, the biggest cop-out of all time, is when, especially, you know, all pundits want to say: ‘They didn’t want it. They didn’t have the heart, you know, back in our day, we would fight and we would die on that field,'” Pulisic said in the eighth episode of the docuseries, which was filmed earlier this summer.
In the episode, which chronicles a poor run of form from the U.S. in 2025, as well as Pulisic doing “the best thing for myself” by taking a break from the summer’s Gold Cup, Weah also chimed in about the growing criticism from pundits and former USMNT players.
“Those guys are chasing checks, and for me, I just feel like they’re really evil, honestly, because they’ve been players, and they know what it’s like when you’re getting bashed,” Weah said. “Those are the same guys that will turn around and shake your hand and try to be friendly with you.”
The comments from both players, as well as from Mark Pulisic (Christian’s father), who said that former U.S. pros “should look in the mirror” before they “start talking s—,” have added more fuel to the public spat between the current and previous generation of USMNT stars.
Ahead of the Gold Cup, U.S. icon Landon Donovan took a verbal jab at Pulisic and other USMNT key figures who would be absent from the tournament, without specifically naming any players, stating: “I can’t help but think about some of our guys on vacation, not wanting to play in the Gold Cup. It’s pissing me off.”
Without Pulisic, among others at the Gold Cup, a USMNT roster filled with many second-choice players finished second after a 2-1 loss to rival Mexico in the July 6 final.
The U.S. went into the tournament on a four-game losing streak that included a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Concacaf Nations League.
In response to Donovan — and days before the Gold Cup — Mark Pulisic took to social media and asked ChatGPT to explain Donovan’s break from the sport in 2012-13.
“Landon Donovan took his sabbatical because he was feeling both physically and mentally exhausted after years of intense competition and the pressure that comes with being a top athlete,” read the AI text in a June social media post, which Christian liked online.
Former U.S. great Alexi Lalas was also critical of Pulisic’s absence from the Gold Cup.
Speaking on the “Call It What You Want” podcast on the Golazo Network after his decision, Pulisic said earlier this summer: “You can talk about my performances, whatever you want, but to question my commitment, especially towards the national team, in my opinion that’s way out of line.”
Pulisic is preparing for the upcoming Serie A season with AC Milan, who kick off their 2025-26 run with a Coppa Italia game against Bari on Sunday. Weah recently moved to Marseille on loan from Juventus and will begin his Ligue 1 campaign against Rennes on Friday.
As for the USMNT, its next friendlies are scheduled for Sept. 6 against South Korea, and then against Japan three days later.
