Philadelphia Union Soccer Players Wear the Names of Blacks Killed by the Police on their Jerseys

In a way to show solidarity for the Black community and respect to the Blacks who lost their lives at the hands of Police officers, the Philadelphia Union wore the names of the victims who were recently killed on the back of their jerseys. Among the names were George Floyd, Breonna Taylor. Alton Sterling, Tamir Rice, John Crawford, and Eric Garner. This was in a major league soccer game between the Philadelphia Union and New York City FC.

The soccer team came out fully in support of the Black community, wearing “Black Lives Matter” T-shirts. They also went as far as making custom made BLM armband and shin guards to be worn during the tournament. The team’s manager, Jim Curtin also said that he supports his players’ empathic gesture and regard for those the African-Americans that have lost their lives to police brutality.

“At the start, certainly things going on in our country is far bigger than soccer,” Curtin said. “I have to say I’m very proud of my players throughout the past four months for the leadership they’ve shown, the leadership role they’ve taken in the BLM movement, educating the other players on our team.”

He went on further to say that the move taken by the team was “action over permission” doing what was most reasonable. “It was done to show respect, to learn, to grow, to make our country better.”

According to Union defender Ray Gaddis, the idea of using custom made BLM T-shirts, armbands, and shin guards came from all the team players. After making deliberate efforts to educate the rest of the Union players on why the BLM movement is so important and why the team needs to speak out against systemic racism.

“It was to continue the conversation that needs to be had. We first and foremost asked our team if they were OK with it because solidarity is key and we want to make sure everybody feels comfortable,” Gadis said. “Actions are louder than words. Again, it’s to further the conversation and to continue to use our platform to be a voice for the voiceless. It was a collective group effort.”

During the tournament opener on Wednesday, over 100 Black MLS players took a knee and raised their fists to show solidarity. The act of kneeling in protest was made popular by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016, while fist-raising as a form of protest started as far back as 1968 by Americans John Carlos and Tommie Smith, during the Mexico Olympics. The fist-raising act became associated with the Black Power movement of the 1960s/70s, as well as the current Black Lives Matter movement.

In June, over 170 Black MLS players came together in solidarity to form the Black Players for Change Organization. The goals of the organization include speaking out against all racial matters as related to MLS, increase Black presence in the MLS Players Association and at the top levels of MLS, and have a strong impact in Black communities.

Our players stand together. One name too many. pic.twitter.com/tPoR8DWveN

— PhilaUnion (@PhilaUnion) July 9, 2020