The Philadelphia Union soccer team returned in full force at the Major League Soccer’s season-resuming tournament Thursday morning, winning the game against the New York City FC.
However, the real highlight of the game was the Union’s globally televised protest against police brutality and killings of Black people across the United States.
Instead of their own names, the team came out wearing the names of some of the many Black victims of police brutality on their jerseys.
Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake wore his jersey with the last name of George Floyd, while others wore last names of Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Alton Sterling, Tamir Rice, Philando Castille, Sandra Bland, and others who died at the hands of the police.
The bottom of their jerseys bore another message, “One name too many”, in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter social justice movement.
The team also showed on Twitter a custom armband for Captain Alejandro Bedoya to wear for the MLS is Back Tournament, which had all the names of the Black victims.
During the match, Union players wore shin guards that read, “enough is enough,” with the hashtag “end racism” and pictured raised fists.
Union manager Jim Curtin fully supports the player’s stand, and said, “I have to say I’m very proud of my players throughout the past four months for the leadership they’ve shown, the leadership role they’ve taken in the BLM movement, educating the other players on our team.”
“The idea today was action over permission; I hope the league understands that. It was done to show respect, to learn, to grow, to make our country better. I’m really proud of my players for everything they’ve done,” he added.
Union defender Ray Gaddis, whose jersey had Breonna Taylor’s last name, said that the idea is a product of a discussion among all of the team’s players.
“It was to continue the conversation that needs to be had. We first and foremost asked our team if they were OK with it because solidarity is key and we want to make sure everybody feels comfortable,” he said.
“Actions are louder than words. Again, it’s to further the conversation and to continue to use our platform to be a voice for the voiceless. It was a collective group effort.”