Two-time Grand Slam tennis champion Naomi Osaka joined the chorus of athletes condemning the death of an unarmed black man at the hands of Minneapolis police, posting pictures of protests from the Minnesota city on her Instagram account.
“Just because it isn’t happening to you doesn’t mean it isn’t happening at all,” wrote Osaka, whose mother is Japanese and whose father is Haitian.
“It’s funny to me that the people who wanna wear chains, blast hip hop in the gym, attempt to get dapped up, and talk in slang are suddenly quiet right now,” added Osaka, the former world number one who was this week touted by Forbes magazine as the highest-paid female athlete in the world with earnings of $37.4 mn (34.3 mn euros).
Minneapolis, Minnesota, has become the epicentre of violent protests since George Floyd died there on Monday after police officer Derek Chauvin pinned him to the ground for several minutes by kneeling on his neck.
Chauvin has been charged with murder and negligent manslaughter, but protests across the country have turned violent.
US sports stars attuned to social issues were quick to voice outrage at Floyd’s death.
Three-time NBA champion LeBron James contrasted the knee on Floyd’s neck with the kneeling protests of former NFL star Colin Kaepernick in 2016.
Kaepernick, who was ostracised by the NFL for kneeling during the national anthem in protest against racial injustice, has launched a fund to pay for legal representation for protesters who need it.
In Germany on Saturday, Schalke’s American midfielder Weston McKennie wore a “Justice for George” armband in his team’s 1-0 Bundesliga loss to Werder Bremen.
“To be able to use my platform to bring attention to a problem that has been going on too long feels good!!!” the 21-year-old tweeted.
Yesterday, Marcus Thuram took a knee after scoring for Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Thuram’s gesture was the second protest in the Bundesliga this weekend.
The 22-year-old French striker continued his recent hot form with two goals as Borussia Moenchengladbach beat visiting Union Berlin 4-1.
Because of social distancing rules, goal celebrations were muted but after Thuram headed his team’s second goal just before half time he took the opportunity to make a solitary statement, kneeling and bowing his head.
At half time, his club tweeted a photo with the caption: “No explanation needed.”
After the game, Gladbach coach Marco Rose said Thuram had his backing.
“Marcus has made the point. He has set an example against racism that we all support,” Rose said.
Thuram, whose father, French World Cup winner Lilian runs the Education against Racism foundation in Paris, was the latest show of solidarity with the current protests sweeping the United States.
Rising US tennis star Coco Gauff applauded Osaka’s Instagram’s post on Saturday.
The 16-year-old African American, who burst onto the international scene with a fourth-round run at Wimbledon last year that included a triumph over her idol Venus Williams, had posted her own chilling condemnation of Floyd’s death on social media on Friday.
In a video she referenced a number of unarmed black Americans who died in recent years at the hands of authorities or white fellow citizens.
“Am I next?” Gauff asked.
In this May 28, 2019, picture, Japan’s Naomi Osaka hits a return against Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in their first-round encounter at the French Open in Paris. (AFP)
