MLS returns after poignant moment of silence to protest racial injustice
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Nearly 200 players took the field for an 8-minute, 46-second moment of silence to protest racial injustice before Major League Soccer’s return to action Wednesday night.
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.
The group 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
combatting 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 the 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 May 25 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 7 minutes, 46 seconds — not the 8:46 that
has become a symbol of police brutality.
MLS players had weeks to
decide what to do prior to the MLS is Back tournament at ESPN’s Wide
World of Sports complex at Disney World.
The league’s teams are
sequestered in resorts for the duration of the World Cup-style
tournament, which began with a Group A match that was the first meeting
between two Sunshine State teams.
FC Dallas withdrew Monday 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.
MLS
shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic on March 12, after the
league’s teams had each played two regular-season games.
The
reboot had a considerably different feel — without fans and with plenty
of concern even amid a safety bubble. Can 25 teams that include nearly
700 players plus coaches, trainers and other support staff do everything
right for a month? And what’s the threshold for more positive tests?
The NFL, the NBA and Major League Baseball surely have a close eye on what’s happening outside Orlando.
The
NBA should get an up-close look. The league already has part of its
bubble established at the ESPN venue. NBA team flags fly on every
flagpole, and some areas have been sanitized and cordoned off for
basketball’s return later this month.
MLS is using two fields near
the back of the complex, the same ones the NFL used for Pro Bowl
practices the last four years. The league mandated masks for everyone
other than players. Coaches, support staff and media donned masks during
the game. Miami star Rodolfo Pizarro, who wasn’t in the starting
lineup, also wore one during warmups.