Many leading athletes have come out publicly to support the protests. Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote in the Los Angeles Times, “Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even if you’re choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere. As long as we keep shining that light, we have a chance of cleaning it wherever it lands. But we have to stay vigilant, because it’s always still in the air.”
Meanwhile, many NFL stars are speaking out against New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who recently criticized players who have taken a knee during the national anthem, saying he would “never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America.” His teammate Malcolm Jenkins posted a video on Instagram responding.
Malcolm Jenkins: “Here we are in 2020 with the whole country on fire, everybody witnessing a Black man dying, being murdered at the hands of the police, just in cold blood, for everybody to see. The whole country is on fire. And the first thing that you do is criticize one’s peaceful protest?”
In other sports news, 16-year-old tennis star Coco Gauff spoke Wednesday at a Black Lives Matter protest in Delray Beach, Florida.
Coco Gauff: “No matter how big or small your platform is, you need to use your voice. I saw a Dr. King quote that said, 'The silence of the good people is worse than the brutality of the bad people.' So you need to not be silent.”