International George Floyd solidarity, including sports people

This AFP photo shows British Jadon Sancho, Borussia Dortmund football player in Germany, showing his George Floyd solidarity shirt after scoring a goal.

Translated from Dutch NOS radio today:

The violent death of the American George Floyd, who was killed by brutal police action, also impacts the sports world. Eg, Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton is critical of his ‘silent’ colleagues. …

“I see those who are silent, some of them are the biggest stars, but you remain silent amid injustice,” Hamilton writes in an Instagram post. “I do not support the people who loot and set buildings on fire, but I do support those who protest peacefully. There cannot be peace until our so-called leaders bring about change.”

“This is not just about America, this is also about Britain, Spain, Italy, everywhere,” Hamilton continues. “Teach people about equality, racism, prejudice and that we are all the same. We are not born with racism and hatred in our hearts, we are taught them by the people we look up to.”

Support for Hamilton’s call

Many Formula 1 drivers have responded in response to Hamilton’s cry from his heart. “To be honest, I didn’t feel comfortable sharing my thoughts on the whole situation,” Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc writes.

“I struggle to find the right words to describe what I see on the gruesome videos. Racism must be addressed with action, not silence. It is our responsibility to stand up to injustice.”

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Seeing the news the last few days has left me saddened, what happened to George Floyd and what continues to happen in today’s society is a disgrace. Now more than ever we need to stand together, unified together. Racism is toxic and needs to be addressed not with violence or silence but with unity and action. We need to stand up, we need to be a WE. Let’s be better people. It’s 2020 ffs. Black lives matter.

A post shared by Daniel Ricciardo (@danielricciardo) on May 31, 2020 at 7:11pm PDT

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This has to stop😔 #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #BlackLivesMatter

A post shared by Nicholas Latifi (@nicholaslatifi) on May 31, 2020 at 2:36pm PDT

Protests internationally against police murder of George Floyd. By Thomas Scripps, 1 June 2020. Thousands have demonstrated in a show of solidarity with US protests.