I think the issue here is that r/Europe and the French ambassador don’t understand the nuances of identity in America. In many European countries, there is little seperation between ethnic/cultural identity and national identity. You can’t really be “French-African”, just French. In America, there is a seperation. You can be an nationally “American” and you can be ethno-culturally “Vietnamese” at the same time. The two are not contradictory, as in America, racial/ethnic identity and national identity are separate. r/Europe and the ambassador does not seem to understand this, and seems to think that any American who takes notice that the French team is of mostly African descent is somehow degrading the “Frenchness” of the players and, more insidiously, that they are racist compared to enlightened, race-blind European societies. Of course, however, European societies are definitely NOT race-blind, and have their own racial and ethnic issues.