{"id":1143703,"date":"2020-06-03T12:15:46","date_gmt":"2020-06-03T11:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1143703"},"modified":"2022-02-20T23:22:41","modified_gmt":"2022-02-20T23:22:41","slug":"football-supports-black-lives-matter-movement","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/football-supports-black-lives-matter-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Lives Matter: The cause footballers are taking the knee for, from Marcus Thuram to Mario Balotelli"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>On May 25, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, died in police custody in Minneapolis. His death has so far led to a murder charge against one of the officers involved.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>He was unarmed, clearly distressed and alerting officers to the fact he could not breathe as he lay handcuffed face-down in the street, at one point pinned by three officers applying pressure to his neck, torso and legs. Yet, footage shows the since-fired police officer Derek Chauvin continued to hold his knee on George Floyd&#8217;s neck. According to the criminal complaint, he did so for more than eight minutes.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n<li>Since George Floyd&#8217;s death, another black man named <a href=\"https:\/\/eu.courier-journal.com\/story\/news\/local\/2020\/06\/01\/who-david-mcatee-louisville-barbecue-store-owner-killed-police\/5308229002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David McAtee has died after he was shot by Louisville police<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bjs.gov\/content\/pub\/pdf\/cpp15.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">report<\/a> by the US Department of Justice in October 2018 found that \u201cwhen police initiated the contact, blacks (5.2 percent) and Hispanics (5.1 percent) were more likely to experience the threat or use of physical force than whites (2.4 percent).&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>According to official <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-52877678\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">US Census Bureau figures<\/a>, African-Americans made up 13.4% of the population but accounted for 23.4% of the 1,004 fatal shootings by police in 2019.<\/li>\n<li>In the UK, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-england-london-44214748\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">figures released in 2018<\/a> suggested the London Metropolitan Police were four times more likely to use force against black people than against white people.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Chauvin, a 44-year-old white man, has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AttorneyCrump\/status\/1267540974244442112\/photo\/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Floyd family&#8217;s lawyer<\/a> has called for a charge of first-degree murder and the arrest of the other three officers dismissed along with Chauvin in the immediate aftermath of the incident.<\/p>\n<p>The outrage among the Black community and others who stand against systemic racial injustice has been expressed in protests across the US. Black Lives Matter marches are also taking place worldwide and the tragedy has been met by gestures of solidarity in top-level football.<\/p>\n<h2>Justice For George Floyd<\/h2>\n<p>In the <span id=\"urn:enhancement-e41589f0\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-organization\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01348\/entity\/bundesliga\">Bundesliga<\/span> on Saturday, Schalke and USA midfielder Weston McKennie wore the message &#8216;Justice for George&#8217; on his captain&#8217;s armband. A day later, Jadon Sancho and Achraf Hakimi both revealed the same text on undershirts after each scored in <span id=\"urn:enhancement-753c9531\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-organization\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01348\/entity\/borussia_dortmund\">Borussia Dortmund<\/span>&#8216;s win against Paderborn.<\/p>\n<p>McKennie said after the game that he was asked to remove the message by the referee.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">To be able to use my platform to bring attention to a problem that has been going on to long feels good!!! We have to stand up for what we believe in and I believe that it is time that we are heard! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/justiceforgeorgefloyd?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#justiceforgeorgefloyd<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/saynotoracism?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#saynotoracism<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TRB1AGm0Qx\">pic.twitter.com\/TRB1AGm0Qx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Weston McKennie (@WMckennie) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WMckennie\/status\/1266776949352849409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 30, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was like, \u2018I\u2019m not taking it off\u2019,&#8221; he told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/robertkidd\/2020\/06\/01\/schalke-usmnt-player-weston-mckennie-says-he-will-keep-paying-tribute-to-george-floyd\/#7dc76ba7108a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forbes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There\u2019s a rule in the league that you can&#8217;t make political statements. But I mean, if you really, really look at this as a political statement, then I don&#8217;t know what to tell you.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The league and everyone [in soccer] always preaches \u2018say no to racism\u2019. So I didn&#8217;t think that there would be a problem. If I have to take the consequences to express my opinion, to express my feelings, to stand up for what I believe in, then that&#8217;s something that I have to do.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">First professional hat trick ??. A bittersweet moment personally as there are more important things going on in the world today that we must address and help make a change. We have to come together as one &amp; fight for justice. We are stronger together! \u2764\ufe0f <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/JusticeForGeorgeFloyd?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#JusticeForGeorgeFloyd<\/a> ?? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ntOtwOySCO\">pic.twitter.com\/ntOtwOySCO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jadon Sancho (@Sanchooo10) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Sanchooo10\/status\/1267187276326547457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 31, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Because the death of George Floyd is the latest tragic example illustrating a broader issue, there were other associated acts of protest invoked during the latest <span id=\"urn:enhancement-3d33469\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-organization\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01348\/entity\/bundesliga\">Bundesliga<\/span> gameweek. After scoring for <span id=\"urn:enhancement-1d916d7b\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-organization\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01348\/entity\/borussia_monchengladbach\">Borussia Monchengladbach<\/span> against Union Berlin, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/borussia-monchengladbach-union-berlin-analysis-marcus-thuram-plea\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marcus Thuram went down on one knee and bowed his head<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">No explanation needed. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5JO1CCJexU\">pic.twitter.com\/5JO1CCJexU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Gladbach (@borussia_en) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/borussia_en\/status\/1267102521534885890?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 31, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Fifa&#8217;s Laws of the Game prohibits players from displaying &#8220;political, religious, personal slogans, statement[s] or images, or advertising other than the manufacturer logo&#8221; during matches and the German Football Association said it will investigate the cases involving Hakimi, McKennie and Sancho.<\/p>\n<p>However, in an accompanying statement the organisation&#8217;s president, Fritz Keller, said he was &#8220;proud of them.&#8221; Gianni Infantino, president of Fifa, has since issued his own statement, which read: &#8220;For the avoidance of doubt, in a FIFA competition the recent demonstrations of players in Bundesliga matches would deserve an applause and not a punishment.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Chairman of anti-racism organisation Kick it Out Sanjay Bhandari called for &#8220;leniency&#8221; and, as the Premier League prepares to resume in mid-June, suggested more players should consider following the example of Thuram.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not sure how you can sanction Marcus Thuram,&#8221; Bhandari said. &#8220;I don\u2019t think he\u2019s done anything wrong. He\u2019s just taken a knee.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wonder if that\u2019s the thing I would encourage if players want to protest. If you score a goal and take a knee could everyone do that? Not just the black players. The white players too \u2013 everyone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRacism\u2019s not about black players or brown fans. It\u2019s about all of us. Racism corrodes society and we\u2019re all hurt by it. Everyone should want to demonstrate their solidarity and disgust.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would like to encourage the players to protest if they want to but I would also like to encourage them to do it in a way that doesn\u2019t expose them to unnecessary sanction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they could do that by taking a knee, if every player did that, it would be quite a powerful message. I would be interested to hear what the authorities thought of that, whether it would constitute a breach of the rules. To me, that is about demonstrating solidarity.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Why Premier League teams are taking the knee<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The entire squad knelt in Anfield&#39;s centre circle ahead of today&#39;s training session in a powerful show of support for the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BlackLivesMatter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BlackLivesMatter<\/a> movement.<\/p>\n<p>Unity is strength: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2BN18U4jIY\">https:\/\/t.co\/2BN18U4jIY<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oVE5RgNMmh\">pic.twitter.com\/oVE5RgNMmh<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Liverpool FC (@LFC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LFC\/status\/1267521210503610370?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Whether we will see players do so in games is uncertain, but several Premier League teams have already taking the knee in training sessions.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"qme\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UnitedAsOne?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#UnitedAsOne<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/G79rrXcx3a\">pic.twitter.com\/G79rrXcx3a<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NUFC\/status\/1267756231319588864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 2, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"urn:enhancement-44348217\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-organization\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01348\/entity\/liverpool_f-c\" style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Liverpool<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">, <\/span><span id=\"urn:enhancement-1af73de9\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-organization\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01348\/entity\/newcastle_united_fc\" style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Newcastle United<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"> and Chelsea have used the gesture to express support for the Black Lives Matter movement.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Before training at Cobham this morning, the Chelsea players and coaching staff formed the letter H, for humans, and knelt in a show of support for the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BlackLivesMatter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BlackLivesMatter<\/a> movement. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/yI6kAywa93\">pic.twitter.com\/yI6kAywa93<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChelseaFC\/status\/1267784859218587651?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 2, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, Mario Balotelli used his personal platform to spread awareness. The former <span id=\"urn:enhancement-f27fa37b\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-organization\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01348\/entity\/pep_guardiola\">Manchester City<\/span> and <span id=\"urn:enhancement-26a0f0fd\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-organization\" itemid=\"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl01348\/entity\/liverpool_f-c\">Liverpool<\/span> striker has been subjected to racist abuse on multiple occasions and was even yellow-carded for reporting one case to a Ligue 1 referee mid-game last season.<\/p>\n<p>His pose pays tribute to two iconic acts of protest against racial oppression from sporting history, one contemporary and one that took place over half a century ago. With his raised fist, he is performing the Black Power salute, which became a symbol of defiance when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2012\/mar\/30\/black-power-salute-1968-olympics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John Carlos and Tommie Smith stood on the podium at the 1968 Olympics<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The act of dropping to one knee, emulated also by the players and teams mentioned above, is of a much more recent origin.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CA5wBGkqbOH\/<\/p>\n<p>During a 2016 pre-season game for the San Francisco 49ers, NFL star Colin Kaepernick sat down during the national anthem, which is played before every sporting event in America and during which those present are encouraged to stand. Kaepernick later began kneeling and on the first occasion was joined by teammate Eric Reid.<\/p>\n<p>Kaepernick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/news\/colin-kaepernick-explains-why-he-sat-during-national-anthem-0ap3000000691077\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">explained<\/a> the reasoning behind this peaceful act of protest: &#8220;I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1143746\" style=\"width: 2570px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1143746\" class=\"wp-image-1143746 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2020\/06\/02123901\/1143703_1143703_colin-kaepernick-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1845\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2020\/06\/02123901\/1143703_1143703_colin-kaepernick-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2020\/06\/02123901\/1143703_1143703_colin-kaepernick-300x216.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2020\/06\/02123901\/1143703_1143703_colin-kaepernick-1024x738.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2020\/06\/02123901\/1143703_1143703_colin-kaepernick-768x553.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2020\/06\/02123901\/1143703_1143703_colin-kaepernick-1536x1107.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2020\/06\/02123901\/1143703_1143703_colin-kaepernick-2048x1476.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2020\/06\/02123901\/1143703_1143703_colin-kaepernick-66x48.jpg 66w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1143746\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kaepernick was later joined by teammates Eli Harold and Eric Reid.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is not something that I am going to run by anybody. I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed&#8230; If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Kaepernick&#8217;s career has suffered as a result of his protest. He has been a free agent since opting out of his contract with the 49ers in 2017.<\/p>\n<h2>Black Lives Matter<\/h2>\n<p>Most strongly associated with the recent protests is activist group Black Lives Matter, &#8220;whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The movement was founded in 2013 when George Zimmermann was acquitted of murder after shooting teenager Trayvon Martin. However, writer Jelanni Cobb notes in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2016\/03\/14\/where-is-black-lives-matter-headed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Yorker<\/a> profile: &#8220;Black Lives Matter didn\u2019t reach a wider public until the following summer, when a police officer named Darren Wilson shot and killed eighteen-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span>Journalist Wesley Lowery summed up the impact the killing of Mike Brown had, and subsequent Ferguson unrest, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2017\/jan\/17\/black-lives-matter-birth-of-a-movement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Guardian<\/a> long-read: &#8220;<\/span><span>The social justice movement spawned from Mike Brown\u2019s blood would force city after city to grapple with its own fraught histories of race and policing. As protests propelled by tweets and hashtags spread under the banner of Black Lives Matter and with mobile phone and body camera video shining new light on the way police interact with minority communities, America was forced to consider that not everyone marching in the streets could be wrong. Even if you believe Mike Brown\u2019s own questionable choices sealed his fate, did\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"u-underline in-body-link--immersive\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/video\/2014\/dec\/04\/i-cant-breathe-eric-garner-chokehold-death-video\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Eric Garner<\/a><span>,\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"u-underline in-body-link--immersive\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2014\/sep\/24\/surveillance-video-walmart-shooting-john-crawford-police\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">John Crawford<\/a><span>,\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"u-underline in-body-link--immersive\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2015\/may\/12\/tamir-rice-police-killing-investigation-cleveland\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Tamir Rice<\/a><span>,\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"u-underline in-body-link--immersive\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2015\/apr\/12\/walter-scott-shooting-officer-michael-slager-audio-recording\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Walter Scott<\/a><span>,\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"u-underline in-body-link--immersive\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/video\/2015\/apr\/20\/baltimore-man-died-spine-injury-video\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Freddie Gray<\/a><span>, and\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"u-underline in-body-link--immersive\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2015\/jul\/21\/sandra-bland-dashcam-video-arrest-released\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Sandra Bland<\/a><span>\u00a0all deserve to die?&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Along with George Floyd, Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford highlighted the stories of two other recent victims.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I know you guys haven&#8217;t heard from me in a few days,&#8221; he wrote on social media.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"qme\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/blacklivesmatter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#blacklivesmatter<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LSEeQ61YRz\">pic.twitter.com\/LSEeQ61YRz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MarcusRashford\/status\/1267381440464982016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been trying to process what is going on in the world. At a time I&#8217;ve been asking people to come together, work together and be united, we appear to be more divided than ever.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;People are hurting and people need answers. Black lives matter. Black culture matters. Black communities matter.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We matter. #justiceforgeorgefloyd #justiceforahmaudarbery #justiceforbreonnataylor&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Armaud Arbery was shot dead in February 2020 as he ran through a Brunswick neighbourhood. It was over two months before charges were brought against father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael, both of whom are white. Gregory McMichael, a former police officer, said he thought Mr Arbery looked like a suspect in a series of recent break-ins, according to a police report.<\/p>\n<p>The other victim Rashford references is Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old <span>emergency medical technician <\/span>who was shot dead by police in her home in March 2020. Officers entered as part of a drugs investigation and the police claimed they were returning fire after an officer was shot and injured. Ms Taylor&#8217;s boyfriend later said he fired in self defence as the officers did not announce themselves. In a subsequent lawsuit, her mother claims the suspect the police were actually looking for was already in custody.<\/p>\n<p>Check the replies on social media, and you may notice one common response from some users is to say &#8216;all lives matter.&#8217; However, in 2015 Black Lives Matter founder Alicia Garza explained why this is unhelpful to their cause.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I\u2019ll say that changing Black Lives Matter to All Lives Matter is not an act of solidarity,&#8221; she <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/video\/building-movements-without-shedding-differences-alicia-garza\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What it is is a demonstration of how we don\u2019t actually understand structural racism in this country. When we say All Lives Matter, that\u2019s a given. Of course, we\u2019re all human beings \u2013 we all bleed red \u2013 but the fact of the matter is some human lives are valued more than others, and that\u2019s a problem.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>To find out more about the Black Lives Matter movement, you can visit <a href=\"https:\/\/blacklivesmatter.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">their website<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On May 25, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, died in police custody in Minneapolis. His death has so far led to a murder charge against one of the officers involved. He was unarmed, clearly distressed and alerting officers to the fact he could not breathe as he lay handcuffed face-down in the street, at&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":324,"featured_media":1143742,"parent":0,"menu_order":2424,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Black Lives Matter: The cause footballers are taking the knee for, from Marcus Thuram to Mario Balotelli","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"news-category":[],"class_list":["post-1143703","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"external_featured_image_url":"","hide_featured_image_pattern":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Black Lives Matter: The cause footballers are taking the knee for, from Marcus Thuram to Mario Balotelli<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/football-supports-black-lives-matter-movement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Black Lives Matter: The cause footballers are taking the knee for, from Marcus Thuram to Mario Balotelli\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On May 25, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, died in police custody in Minneapolis. 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