TAKING A STAND
Furious Hamilton condemns F1 for silence over death of Floyd
LEWIS HAMILTON shattered the silence in Formula One with a call to arms over racism.
The world champion, outraged by the death of American George Floyd at the hands of police, challenged his fellow drivers to stand up and be counted, saying: “I see those of you who are staying silent, some of you the biggest of stars, yet you stay silent in the midst of injustice.
“Not a sign from anybody in my industry, which of course is a whitedominated sport.
“I’m one of the only people of colour there yet I stand alone. I would have thought by now you would see why this happens and say something but you can’t stand alongside us. I know who you are and I see you.”
Hours later other drivers followed his lead. Charles Leclerc, Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris, George Russell, Carlos Sainz, Nicholas Latifi and Sergio Perez all responded.
Ferrari’s Leclerc apologised on Twitter, saying: “To be completely honest, I felt out of place and uncomfortable sharing my thoughts on social media about the whole situation and this is why I haven’t expressed myself earlier than today.
“And I was wrong. I still struggle to find the words to describe the atrocity of some videos I’ve seen on the internet. Racism needs to be met with actions, not silence. It is our responsibility to speak out against injustice. Don’t be silent. I stand #BlackLivesMatter.”
Williams driver Russell added: “We all have a voice to speak up for what’s right and until now I didn’t know how to use mine in this situation.
“It’s time we all stand together and kick racism out of our societies for good. Use your voice, spread awareness as far as you can. We’re all responsible for ending the injustice.”
It was a view that echoed what Watford striker Troy Deeney said last week: “How many footballers have an opinion on racism? Loads. How many speak out on it? A handful.” Liverpool showed them how it should be done when they tweeted pictures of the entire squad ‘taking a knee’ around the centre circle at Anfield yesterday. And England star Jadon Sancho celebrated the first goal of his hat-trick for Dortmund on Sunday by removing his shirt – and earning a booking – to show a message of support for the family of Floyd, whose death has sparked riots across America.
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford revealed he had been “trying to process what is going on in the world”. He said: “At a time I’ve been asking people to come together, work together and be united, we appear to be more divided than ever.
“People are hurting and need answers. Black lives matter. Black culture matters. Black communities matter. We matter.”
At times like this, British sport is blessed to have men such as Hamilton, Sancho and Rashford. We need more like them.