‘We won’t tolerate’: Sports world unites behind Floyd

By STEVE DOUGLAS

Players who scored in the German and Hungarian soccer leagues removed their jerseys to display undershirts with the words: “Justice for George Floyd.”

Others from English soccer clubs Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle dropped to one knee during practice in a clear gesture of support.

In New Zealand, a Nigerian-born UFC fighter addressed a crowd of 4,000, imploring those listening to “speak up” and take peaceful action to register their discontent.

Dismayed by the death of Floyd and inspired by the actions of Colin Kaepernick, athletes from around the world have come together during one of the most politically charged periods in modern history.

“I can’t tolerate. I won’t tolerate. WE WON’T TOLERATE,” Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, one of the world’s most famous soccer players and a World Cup champion with France, wrote on his Instagram page to his 41 million followers alongside a picture of him looking to the sky with a clenched right fist.

It was powerful image to accompany the picture of 29 Liverpool players kneeling around the center circle at Anfield Stadium at the end of a practice session on Monday. Or the entire Chelsea squad kneeling down and forming the letter “H” — for humans — during training on Tuesday.

Their actions mimicked the one made by Kaepernick during the national anthem in 2016 in silent protest of police brutality and racism while then playing for the San Francisco 49ers.

Kaepernick’s gesture kicked off a period of pregame activism in the NFL and other sports but it didn’t gain a strong hold worldwide.

Not like the killing of Floyd, a black man and former community college basketball player who died after a white police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes even after he stopped moving and stopped pleading for air.

“It hit a nerve in this very particular time, which I think made people all around the world reflect on the environment we live, not only in the U.S. but in all kinds of places where there is a perpetuation of discrimination and inequality,” Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, secretary general of global soccer players union FIFPro, told The Associated Press.

Baer-Hoffman said the reaction of sports stars was a reflection of uncertain times around the world since the outbreak of the coronavirus.

“Maybe it’s because we are living in a time where the interconnectedness of people through the pandemic has become more conscious to us all,” he said.

“When you look at the images (of the incident involving Floyd), it is manifestly disturbing. It scares you and forces you to think … I think it stands for something much greater. For footballers in this context, they are people … They are speaking out and, of course, have a bigger platform than most.”

When Kaepernick took a knee four years ago, United States star Megan Rapinoe was one of the few high-profile soccer players to champion his cause publicly. But the clear parallel between Kaepernick’s action and the knee of the police officer on Floyd’s neck has roused more athletes to speak out.

“In no way are we asking black lives to matter more than white lives,” DeAndre Yedlin, a U.S. soccer international who plays with Newcastle in England, wrote on Twitter.

“All we’re asking is we are seen as equal, as more than 3/5 of a man, as humans. My heart goes out in solidarity to George Floyd, his family, and all of the countless number of victims that have had their lives taken at the hands of meaningless police brutality.”