How soccer is standing up against police brutality
From Europe to Central America, players are demanding #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd
After an intentional silence Tuesday, I wanted to use this little newsletter to write a few words and then get out of the way and showcase the words and actions of others who are members of our Concacaf soccer community.
I am so tired of watching police murder the citizens they are supposed to protect, tired of marching and demanding change only to see the same things happen at best months and at worst minutes later, tired of the macbre roll call I keep in my head: George Floyd? Minneapolis, knee on neck. Breonna Taylor? Louisville, shot in her home during no-knock warrant raid. Atatiana Jefferson? Fort Worth, shot in her home. Botham Jean? Dallas, shot in his apartment. It goes on. There are dozens too many names on this graphic:
I am tired, and I am a white, male, a picture of privelage after a lovely upbringing in a society that told me I could achieve my dreams and then actively worked to help me reach them.
I can not begin to imagine how tired members of the black community feel, having felt this system inequality press down on their shoulders every day for as long as they’ve been alive.
I’ve always been proud of how the United States national teams look when they line up for their prematch picture. There are other countries that have something similar, with various communities so clearly being represented, whether by skin color or name, but I love that when the U.S. takes the field, it so often is group of guys or girls who have such a blend of backgrounds.
You see it in the video Weston McKinnie put together, featuring a number of current and former U.S. internationals plus some other athletes and even McKinnie’s dad:
While it’s great to be proud of our diversity, however, it’s not enough just to point at it and smile. We have to work to make sure that everyone, no matter which player they identify with most, has a chance to flourish in this country.
It has hardly just been Americans who have been speaking up. From Marcus Thuram and Jadon Sancho dedicating goal celebrations in the Bundesliga to George Floyd’s memory, to Hector Bellerin delving into U.S. race relations on his podcast, to the team-wide support from clubs as big as Liverpool in England, Borussia Dortmund in Germany and Besiktas in Turkey, the players are demanding fans of the sport look at what is happening instead of looking away.
In Concacaf, Herediano forward Brayan Rojas took a knee with teammate Berny Burke after the first goal in the Team’s win Wednesday night.
I don’t think it’s an accident that one of the cities outside the U.S. where protesters took to the streets is Paris, where Kylian Mbappe calls home. It’s not simply because Mbappe’s support pushed people to the street (though it doesn’t hurt to have one of your World Cup winners come out in favor of a cause), but because what’s happening in the United States resonating with him means it’s likely to resonate with modern French society as a whole - in this case George Floyd’s death reminds many of that of Adama Traore.
Remember that people are protesting and raising their voice is not, in and of itself, the story, the story is that people are coming out to say they want police brutality to end and want all people to be treated fairly under the law. They also want tangible reforms to policing to reduce police violence. Let’s not forget that message.
We know there is still much work to be done in the United States, in Europe and all over the world to remove racists and racist ideas from our societies and even just our sport.
Here is just a small sample of some words from the soccer community I found insightful during the past week. (Yedlin’s is a thread, so you have to click through to read it).
At least the King has wiped that creepy stare off his face…
In Sunday’s thrilling Clasico in Costa Rica, which saw Alajuelense blow a 2-0 lead and draw Saprissa 2-2, LDA forward Jonathan McDonald managed to get a yellow card from the bench, and that still wasn’t the most outrageous incident he was involved in.
When the veteran forward came on in the second half, rather than his Golden Arches-linked surname, it was instead a rival company’s name on his back.
In that screenshot it looks even more absurd because Giancarlo Castro doesn’t have his name on the back of his jersey, but other LDA players did have their real names above the numbers.
BK has been a persistent presence during the return of the Costa Rican league. One friend texted me “Great, now I’m hungry for Burger King again,” after seeing the enormous banner stretched across the empty far side of the stadium Sunday. Of course, this was the ad stretching across the screen while McDonald was getting set to come on:
I, personally, am very much McDonald’s > Burger King, but I can’t knock the hustle of one Mr. J. Burger King.