Insider Notes: Pulisic's father reacts to attack on Borussia Dortmund's bus
In the wake of the attempted terrorist attack on the Borussia Dortmund team bus last week, Mark Pulisic opened up about the traumatic experience for his son, U.S. midfielder Christian Pulisic, and for his family.
Mark, who’s now an assistant coach with the USL's Rochester Rhinos, said within 20 minutes of the explosions he contacted Christian on the team bus and learned he wasn’t physically hurt.
“It was a tough couple of hours there with my wife,” the elder Pulisic told SI.com. “It’s something you never expect to happen. Tragedies happen, but you never know it could happen to you. I just saw today if they had detonated one second earlier there would have been casualties. Soccer isn’t on the forefront of my mind now anymore. I just want Christian to get through the season, be happy and get a break.”
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Christian’s mother, Kelley, was visiting Christian in Germany, and his main question that night was: Why would people do this?
“She was there for him, just like other players’ families were there for them,” Mark Pulisic said. “We were blessed and happy she could help Christian out that evening. “Christian has had to grow up in an adult soccer world very quickly. He’s 18. He’s not a 30-year-old man understanding all the problems in the world.
“What he’s experienced from a sporting perspective had been very much accelerated, and he’s learning a lot about life at a tender age. I personally don’t know how he’s doing it. He’s a good kid. He’s been embraced by Dortmund, and that has helped all the players get through this week.”
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