A handful of Bundesliga players signaled support for the fight against racism after the killing of George Floyd. DW's Jonathan Harding says they have every right to do so — and now is the time to offer support.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Meissner
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Weston McKennie's armband, Marcus Thuram's kneel and both Jadon Sancho and Achraf Hakimi's message on their undershirts were messages of support in the fight against racism.
League regulations may stipulate that players are not allowed to make political messages on their kit, but both the letter and spirit of that regulation must be considered. These are not political messages, but rather a show of support for the basic human rights that all people share.
Athletes have a platform for positive change
Top-tier athletes in particular play not just sports, but a significant role in society. For better or worse, they have visibility — and with it comes the power to use their platform for good. Social media, too, can be used for good by athletes who command big followings, but tangible action in the real world is more powerful than campaigns in the virtual one.
Some may criticize the time and place of athlete's speaking up. But is there ever an appointed time and place for justice, for equal rights? Racism, sexism, and all forms of discrimination are an inconvenient truth — as such, there is no convenient time and place to address them. If athletes want to send out a message, then they should choose when the time is right for them. In most cases that is on the field, court or pitch. There is no one "right time" or "right place" for protest to take place. Speaking up in this manner is personal, is important, and is contextually specific.
Right now, the context is the tragic and entirely senseless killing of George Floyd in the United States— and how it reflects a backdrop of systemic prejudice in the US and globally. If athletes want to protest and amplify their voice they must be supported in doing so — especially black athletes and those of other minority groups. They should not be told when and where they're allowed to voice their opinions — particularly when we consider the demographics of who wrote these rules.
DW's Jonathan Harding
Even following the letter of the law and booking a player for removing their jersey, as Sancho was, seems absurd in the current situation. Regulations shouldn't be totally thrown out of the window, but now is the time for more empathy and encouragement rather than strict adherence to the rules. People are understandably outraged and upset at unjustified violence and systemic racism. This is bigger than football; for a sport that claims to be of and for the people, more understanding for the eminently just rationale behind the action would have been welcomed.
Suggesting that sportspeople "stay in their lane," or "shut up and dribble" — as LeBron James was once told — is another way of reinforcing the idea that athletes are a commodity whose only value is their sporting ability. Not only is this a denial of their freedom of expression, it ignores that they, too, are humans living in a society.
Black lives matter. Instead of policing how and when they express that truth, we should be cheering on those athletes who speak up for justice the same way we cheer for them on the pitch on Saturdays.
In pictures: US protests over George Floyd, police killings rage in dozens of cities
US protests against the systemic mistreatment of blacks by police have sparked violent confrontations. President Donald Trump has said the military is "ready, willing and able'' to step in.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Cortez
'I can't breathe'
Tense protests over decades of police brutality against black people have quickly spread from Minneapolis to cities across the US. The protests began in the Midwestern city earlier this week, after a police officer handcuffed and pressed a knee on the neck of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, until he stopped breathing and died.
Image: picture-alliance/newscom/C. Sipkin
A 'gentle giant'
Floyd grew up in Houston, Texas, and moved to Minneapolis in 2014 for work. Before his death, he was looking for work after having been laid off from his job as a security guard at a Latin bistro due to Minnesota's stay-at-home coronavirus restrictions. Standing 6 feet, 6 inches (1.98 meters) tall, his friends described him as a "gentle giant."
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/O. Messinger
From peaceful to violent
Protests were mostly peaceful on Saturday, though some became violent as the night wore on. In Washington, D.C., the National Guard was deployed outside the White House. At least one person died in shootings in downtown Indianapolis; police said no officers were involved. Officers were injured in Philadelphia, while in New York two NYPD vehicles lurched into a crowd, knocking people to the ground.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMA/J. Mallin
Shops destroyed, looted
In Los Angeles, protesters faced off with officers with shouts of "Black Lives Matter!" as police confronted crowds with batons and rubber bullets. In some cities including LA, Atlanta, New York, Chicago and Minneapolis, protests have turned into riots, with people looting and destroying local shops and businesses.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/C. Pizello
'When the looting starts…'
President Donald Trump has threatened to send in the military to quell the protests, saying his "administration will stop mob violence and will stop it cold." Trump's response has inflamed tensions across the country. He blamed the rioting on alleged far-left groups, but Minnesota Governor Tim Walz told reporters he had heard multiple unconfirmed reports of white supremacists stoking the violence.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMA/K. Birmingham
Media in the crosshairs
Many journalists covering the protests have found themselves targeted by law enforcement. On Friday, CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez and his crew were arrested while covering the story in Minneapolis, and several reporters have been hit with projectiles or detained while on air. DW's Stefan Simons was fired at by police twice as he reported on the unrest over the weekend.
Image: Getty Images/S. Olson
Going global
North of the US border, in Canada, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Vancouver and Toronto. In Berlin, American expats and other demonstrators gathered outside the US Embassy. In London, protesters kneeled in Trafalgar Square before marching past the Houses of Parliament and stopping at the British capital's US Embassy.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Soeder
At Trump's front door
Protests raged in the US capital, Washington, after the district began its 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew on Sunday. More than 1,000 demonstrators gathered in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, with some lighting fires outside the president's residence. <i>The New York Times</i> reported that Secret Service had brought Trump into a bunker as a safety precaution.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
Curfews in major US cities
Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Detroit, Washington D.C. and other US cities extended curfews as protests entered a sixth night on Sunday. The state of Arizona in the west instituted a statewide, weeklong curfew after demonstrators clashed with police. Around 5,000 troops from the National Guard also have been deployed in 15 US states.
Image: Reuters/P.T. Fallon
Trump threatens to bring in US military
In the face of renewed protests on Monday, Trump threatened to deploy the military if states failed to "defend their residents." As he made his remarks, security authorities used tear gas and rubber bullets to force protesters from nearby Lafayette Park. Trump then walked from his residence to a church in the park, where he held a Bible aloft during a photo opportunity.
Image: Reuters/T. Brenner
Peaceful demonstrations
Many protests in the US have remained peaceful, with groups of demonstrators standing together against police brutality. In Manhattan's Times Square on Monday, protesters lay on the ground with their hands behind their back, mimicking the position Floyd was in when he was killed. Though some people have resorted to violence, several US mayors and governors have praised the protests.
