Philadelphia Union wear names of black Americans killed by police on shirts
Philadelphia Union players wore the names of black Americans killed by police on the backs of their shirts instead of their surnames for Thursday’s match against New York City FC in the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando, Florida.
The team shirts also included the message: “One name, too many” at the bottom in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
As the Union players stood for the team photo, they removed their shirts to show the names on their shirts had been replaced with African American victims of police brutality, including (Breonna) Taylor, (John) Crawford, (Eric) Garner, (Alton) Sterling and (Tamir) Rice.
Alejandro Bedoya scored in the 63rd minute and the Union won the earlymorning game, 1-0.
NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson dove and got a hand on the ball but couldn’t keep Bedoya’s left-footed strike out of the net after a scoreless first half.
The teams met on the second day of the monthlong tournament played without fans in attendance at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports complex at Walt Disney World.
Goalkeeper Andre Blake preserved Philadelphia’s first win of the season in the 86th minute when he dove to push away Brazilian forward Heber’s shot from the left side of the box.
Teams are divided into six groups for the opening stage of the World Cupstyle tournament, with results counting toward the regular season. FC Dallas was forced to withdraw after 10 players and a coach tested positive for Covid-19.
A day later, Nashville SC’s status was thrust into doubt with five confirmed positive tests. Nashville was supposed to play Chicago in the second game of a doubleheader Wednesday but it was postponed.
The competition kicked off on Wednesday night with an emotional tribute before Orlando City’s 2-1 victory over Inter Miami.
Nearly 200 players took the field for an 8min 46sec moment of silence to protest racial injustice before the league’s return to action. Players wore black T-shirts, black gloves and black facemasks emblazoned with Black Lives Matter. The shirts had varying slogans that included Black And Proud, Silence Is Violence and Black All The Time.
The players walked toward midfield, raised their right arms one at a time and held the pose so long that some could be seen stretching fatigued muscles afterward.
It was a poignant moment that put two of the nation’s most prominent changes over the last four months – masks and movements – at the forefront of the sport’s return.
“I felt for a couple of minutes,” Nani said shortly after scoring the winner in the seventh minute of stoppage time. “We all want to change the world. We want a better world – no differences, no discrimination . ... Everyone in the world should stop for a couple of minutes and think about our children and teach them how to be a better person and create a better world.”
The group setting the tone was formerly called the Black Players Coalition of MLS but changed its name this week to Black Players for Change. Originally announced on Juneteenth, the group started in the wake of George Floyd’s death with the hope of combating systemic racism both in soccer and the players’ communities. The league and the players’ union endorsed the organization.
Several other players from Orlando City and Inter Miami took a knee near midfield during Wednesday’s demonstration.
The two in-state teams delivered their own moment of silence by taking a knee along with the referee and the line judges just before the opening kick.
The national anthem was not played before or after the demonstration. MLS previously said it would not be played because no fans were in attendance.
Floyd, a black man, died on 25 May after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes. Prosecutors said that a police officer had his knee on the neck of Floyd for seven minutes, 46 seconds – not the 8:46 that has become a symbol of police brutality.
MLS shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic on 12 March, after the league’s teams had each played two regular-season games.