HONOURED RASHFORD URGES STARS TO KEEP SPEAKING OUT
There was a time not too long ago when the biggest names in the English game were discouraged from having an opinion on anything else but football. It led to a misconception that most of them were not too bright and unable to think for themselves.
But Rashford, 22, has done more than most to change all this in recent months following his incredible campaign to help underprivileged children around the nation get access to free school meals.
His crusade saw the Manchester United and England hero take on the Government and win, forcing them into an embarrassing
U- turn to continue ontyou the scheme.
It was a shot in the arm for all those footballers left seething when our politicians called them out during lockdown and demanded that they provide some financial help towards fighting the coronavirus crisis.
Rashford’s reward was to win the hearts of the population and last week he was awarded an MBE in the delayed Queen’s birthday honours list. And he is not the first player to prove he can think outside the box and use his sporting status as a force for good off the pitch as well as on it.
Three Lions team- mate Raheem Sterling left) has become a leading light in the fight against racism, while Danny Rose ( below, right) has spoken honestly and eloquently on the same subject, as well as revealing his problems with depression. Rashford, who will line up p against g Denmark in the Nations ions League at Wembley ey tonight, is determined d that voices like his will continue to be heard.
He said: “In sports s things thi change all the he time and especially in our generation.
“You mentioned those players’ names, that there’s more people speaking out on issues that they feel strongly about.
“It definitely gives you the element of freedom to speak about things that are important to you. That’s actually how everything started for me, just speaking on something I thought was right.
“I don’t think players should feel bad about doing that. It’s becoming more and more important and the more people do that, the more an eye- opener it is to how many people we can help and we can affect.
“For me it’s a good thing and a positive thing that people feel that freedom to speak out on things. I was proud that the Queen had recognised what I’d been trying to do.”
Rashford, who admits making his international debut aged just 18 helped him to grow up fast, intends to keep pressure on the Government but will not allow his sterling campaigning to affec affect his football.
Th The striker added: “You can’t co control what people are going to s say about you. For me it’s not w what’s important. The thing t that’s important to me is helping th the people we’ve helped so far, ma many more hopefully in the futur future, and just playing my football and keep improving.
“Even though it’s a very touchy topic, I have to keep things as simple as possible for me to stay focused on the pitch and that’s what we’ve been doing.
“I don’t know what the future holds, I had to learn about the issues myself as time went on and gain more of an understanding in order to try and help people in the right way. I’m still young and I’m very much enjoying my football whilst helping people.”