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Hey, everyone.
Athletes in the U.S. took another day to keep the spotlight off sports and on the Black Lives Matter movement and Jacob Blake. Again, I will share some of their efforts.
Ramble of the Day
Track and field athlete John Carlos, who famously protested at the 1968 Olympics, shared his support of the players who didn’t play this week with USA Today, and spoke about the hard work of making genuine progress.
How are we going to turn the corner, man, if a guy tells me ‘Oh, I have a good decent soul, a good heart’ but he doesn’t speak out when he sees an atrocity happen before his eyes, again and again and again? You’re not part of the solution. You’re part of the problem. And as meek and as mild as you might think it is, when you keep your voice down and don’t raise your voice about what you see every day, you’re part of the problem.
The WNBA had a candlelight vigil in their Florida bubble Wednesday night, where the New York Liberty’s Layshia Clarendon read Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise.”
After games were boycotted Wednesday night, the entire @wnba bubble organized and participated in a candlelight vigil. People were encouraged to speak their heart. They are in this together. pic.twitter.com/4MZj64dBlf
— Holly Rowe (@sportsiren) August 27, 2020
Retired Major League Soccer veteran Steve Zakuani wrote about the players’ refusal to play for the league’s website Thursday, sharing his pride in the players and why now feels like a breaking point.
I don’t have all the answers, no one does. But what I do know is that Black people have fought and bled for this nation only to return home and be denied basic rights like being allowed to drink from a water fountain. Black people have seen their leaders shot down in their prime because they dared to ask America to live up to its stated ideals. Black people have been owned, disenfranchised, murdered, raped, ignored, told they have a chip on their shoulders, told when and how to protest, and denied the same freedom the majority enjoy. At some point that becomes too much to endure and so protests like the ones we are seeing today are the natural result of deep-rooted dissatisfaction.
Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins and New York Mets observed 42 seconds of silence ahead of Jackie Robinson Day, and opted not to play Thursday.
After a moment of silence, the Mets and the Marlins have left the field.
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 27, 2020
The only thing remaining on the field is a Black Lives Matter shirt. pic.twitter.com/t7QfWwofOS
Links of the Day
MLS and NWSL players associations called for an investigation into Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen after he criticized players for not playing, and reports of racist behavior.
Behind a paywall: The Athletic’s report of Dell Loy Hansen’s racist behavior, which includes using racial slurs and stereotyping Black players
Several Chelsea players tested positive for COVID-19.
Manchester City and Chelsea players will kneel ahead of the women’s Community Shield on Saturday in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Gareth Barry retired after a 22 year career.
Utah Royals’ Kelley O’Hara will opt out of the NWSL’s fall series.
Transfer updates: Chelsea signed Thiago Silva on a free and Malang Sarr from Nice
A longer read: Stephanie Yang writes that NWSL players need to follow the lead of their WNBA counterparts and further their commitment to the Black Lives Matter movement for All for XI