Jordan joins sports world’s call for change after Floyd death
NBA legend Michael Jordan decried “ingrained racism” in the US as the sports world’s reaction to the death of unarmed black man George Floyd leapt leagues and continents.
“I am deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry,” Jordan said Sunday, as protests over Floyd’s death on May 25 spawned violence and looting across the US. “I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people of color in our country.
“We have had enough,” added Jordan, who was famously reluctant to comment on social issues during his playing career.
Floyd died after a white policeman in Minneapolis held his knee on the handcuffed man’s neck for several minutes.
“We need to continue peaceful expressions against injustice and demand accountability,” Jordan said.
Jordan joined a chorus of voices from the NBA, NFL and other US sports demanding change for black Americans, but the demands went far beyond America.
World champion driver Lewis Hamilton lashed out at “whitedominated” Formula One for failing to speak out against racism. Hamilton warned “I
know who you are and I see you” as the Briton accused his fellow drivers of “staying silent in the midst of injustice” following Floyd’s death. French footballer Marcus Thuram and England international Jadon Sancho both mounted individual protests calling for justice for Floyd after scoring in Germany’s Bundesliga on Sunday. Thuram took a knee after his goal for Borussia Moenchengladbach in a match against Union Berlin, while Sancho marked one of his three goals for Borussia Dortmund against Paderborn by lifting his jersey to reveal a T-shirt bearing the words “Justice for George Floyd.” Thuram’s gesture echoed the protest against US racism spearheaded by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose decision to kneel during the national anthem at games in 2016 masks and only limited personnel will be allowed on the course. That means no bookmakers or bettors, with even the owners themselves barred from attending.
Horse racing was the last live sparked outrage.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver sent an internal memo to the league’s employees saying it shares “the outrage” at the death of Floyd — which comes in the wake of the police killing in Kentucky of emergency health worker Breonna Taylor in her home, and the fatal shooting of unarmed black jogger Ahmaud Arbery.
“We are being reminded that there are wounds in our country that have never healed,” Silver said in the memo published by Yahoo. “Racism, police brutality and racial injustice remain part of everyday life in America and cannot be ignored.”
I am deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry. We have had enough.
HIGHLIGHT Greyhound racing was the first of three sports to resume Monday, with horse racing and snooker also taking place without spectators and on the condition that competitors and officials follow government-approved coronavirus protocols.
sport to shut down in Britain — on March 17.
“It’s time to return and I really feel we can come back in a safe way in a way the public can be proud of,” champion jockey Oisin Murphy said Monday, adding that he and his rivals would physically feel “very close to 100%.”
“But the mental sharpness will only come after a few weeks with some practice.”
Snooker’s Championship League was scheduled to start at 3 p.m. in Milton Keynes, north of London, with top-ranked Judd Trump in action in the first match.