‘We are more than just football players’
901 FC postpones game
Fifty-seven years and one day after Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C., Memphis 901 FC players and coaching staff — joined by fans and community members — walked through downtown Memphis from Autozone Park to the place where King was assassinated.
On Saturday morning, the team was scheduled to be in Raleigh, North Carolina, preparing for a match against North Carolina FC. Instead, the team chose to forego playing to tour the National Civil Rights Museum and focus on the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement, and the work still to be done.
Tim Howard, 901 FC'S goalkeeper, sporting director and minority owner, said the players made a collective decision to postpone the game — North Carolina FC issued a statement expressing support for the players' decision — because some things are larger than sports.
“Our Black players are suffering. Black players all across the USL are suffering, as they are across America. We felt it right that today, and this weekend, be not for sport but for unity, togetherness and trying to learn and gain more compassion,” he said.
In response to the shooting of Jacob Blake by Kenosha, Wisconsin, police on Aug. 23, Milwaukee Bucks players refused to play Game 5 of their NBA playoffs series against the Orlando Magic Wednesday night. Players across the league quickly followed suit as did the WNBA and some MLS and MLB teams. The NHL postponed playoff games on Thursday and USL League One team Forward Madison postponed its match scheduled for Sunday, all to protest racial injustice.
“We get lulled into this false sense of security. There were protests after George Floyd's death and things are changing. And then all the sudden we wake up a couple months later and Jacob Blake has been shot,” Howard said. “You realize that this won't end quietly so we need to continue to be loud with our voices and with our protest and also let people understand that we are human and we are more than just football players.”
Christopher Williams was one of the
about 70 people, including the team, who showed up Saturday morning. He said as a Black man and a 901 FC fan, it was important for him to support the team and their message about ending racism and systemic racial injustices and that he was glad to see the players use their platform to call for change.
“Especially with Tim Howard being such a prominent sports figure across the world, actually, when he speaks people listen,” Williams said. “I know a lot of people think sports and politics shouldn’t be involved but I don’t really want to equate ending racism and inequality (with) politics.”
Wai-lin Danieley and Jade Pearce don’t count themselves as soccer fans, but they showed up in “Black Lives Matter” shirts to join the players and fans.
“With the current events that are going on, I thought that it would be important to be a part of the community,” Danieley said. “As a community, it’s necessary for us to get together and to show that we are unified and to continue to march for justice, for racial equality.”
Pearce said given the history of the Civil Rights Movement in Memphis, in particular, “it means a lot to the community and the people here if we stand by each other.”
“I think as a city we definitely need to be on the front line of civil rights and social activism and social justice."
Coach Tim Mulqueen said the players didn’t want to simply postpone the match, they wanted to do something to highlight the injustices they were protesting and learn more about the history of the Civil Rights Movement in Memphis, specifically.
“This was not an easy decision,” he said. “I think they took their time and really measured what they wanted to do today and how they wanted to make a stand. I’ve never been prouder to be associated with a group than I am today.”
Mulqueen said he was not only proud of his players, but of the club’s leadership, and said he was grateful for the support the team received from the USL, North Carolina FC and the fans and community members who joined the team Saturday.
“When I took the job, I was told by Tim (Howard) that Memphis was a special city and that we were going to have a special club,” he said. “Today it became all that.”
Howard said the club’s players hailed from all over the country and all over the world, but when they signed for 901 FC, they became a part of the city, not just the team.
“When they come to Memphis, the idea is that when they wear the shirt, they wear it proudly because this is an amazing city,” he said.
The match against North Carolina FC will be rescheduled. Memphis 901 FC will play Charlotte Independence Wednesday at Autozone Park.
Corinne Kennedy covers soccer, economic development and COVID-19’S impact on hospitals for the Commercial Appeal. She can be reached via email at Corinne.kennedy@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @Corinneskennedy