Whitecaps claim Andre Lewis is under contract with MLS after Cosmos say they signed him

Exactly which team he is a member of and which team he will play for depends on which team you ask.

A Goal report on Friday afternoon quoted Cosmos CEO Eric Stover as saying that the Jamaican had signed with the NASL club, delivering a seemingly massive hit to the Whitecaps. Vancouver had just drafted Lewis No. 7 overall in the MLS SuperDraft and was a key part of what many regarded as a strong draft haul for the club so losing him at all -- and especially to a second division club -- would be as embarrassing as it is hurtful.

The problem with Stover’s claim is that Lewis has apparently also signed a deal with MLS. The Whitecaps tweeted that Lewis was under contract with the league and, per MLS rules, once Vancouver drafted him, he became a member of their club.

So, if both clubs are to be believed, Lewis is under contract with the Cosmos and the Whitecaps.

You can’t do that.

Exactly how this will be resolved remains to be seen. It is possible one of the two clubs has their information wrong and Lewis doesn’t have a contract with them, leaving him free to become a player with the other club. It may come down to which team he signed a contract with first. It could become an issue of which club can draw the prettiest hearts and rainbows.

Nobody really knows what is going on right now, except maybe Lewis, and even that seems unlikely, but odds are MLS and the Cosmos settle on something quietly.

This has been a rough offseason for the Whitecaps. They saw their best player, Camilo, leave to join Queretaro, only he didn’t tell Vancouver. Queretaro claimed they didn’t know he was under contract and yet Camilo stayed with the Mexican club for two weeks and essentially forced the Whitecaps to sell him, which they did.

Maybe the Whitecaps shouldn’t work with contract anymore. Or other clubs.