Weston McKennie has had enough. The former FC Dallas Academy player and Little Elm native spoke out against the racism he has encountered as a professional soccer player and as a Black man growing up in North Texas in a video on social media with his current club Juventus.
Juventus is an Italian club with 36 domestic titles and currently employs Cristiano Ronaldo.
Together with you, @WMckennie, we are #ReadyforChange! 💪@adidasfootball pic.twitter.com/6gbkHYlVzG
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) October 12, 2020
This year has brought racial and social justice to the forefront in soccer, from Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho calling for justice for George Floyd to the English Premier League kneeling in support of the Black Lives Matter movement before matches when the league returned in June.
As the captain of German club Schalke 04, McKennie used his platform to bring attention to police brutality, writing “Justice for George Floyd” on his captain’s armband days after Floyd’s death in May.
After the match, McKennie took to Twitter to explain his decision.
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! #justiceforgeorgefloyd #saynotoracism pic.twitter.com/TRB1AGm0Qx
— Weston McKennie (@WMckennie) May 30, 2020
McKennie isn’t the only former FC Dallas Academy player to speak out against racism. Former first-team fullback Reggie Cannon was booed by FCD fans for kneeling during the national anthem in August.
Cannon responded to fans' boos after the match by expressing his disappointment in the home crowd.
“You’ve got fans booing you for people taking a stand in what they believe in when millions of other people support this cause,” Cannon said after the match. “We’ve got fans booing us in our own stadium. How disgraceful is that. Honestly, for a lack of a better word, it pissed me off.”
In the video released on Twitter, McKennie describes fans at the beginning of this year making monkey noises at him, calling their racist insults “devastating.” He went on to say he’s afraid to drive at night when he’s home in Dallas.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen if I get pulled over,” McKennie said. "I’m playing for a country that possibly doesn’t accept me just for the color of my skin.
“It’s definitely a bit heartbreaking.”
Since his first appearance with the U.S. Men’s National Team in 2017, McKennie has made 19 appearances and scored six goals.
Later in the video, McKennie further addressed writing “Justice for George Floyd” on his captain’s armband and why he thought it was his responsibility to bring awareness to the issue.
“I was just thinking in my head ‘I don’t see how this is a political statement at all,’ a person lost their life,” McKennie said.
"I’m not going to just shut up and dribble, I’m not just going to make my opinion small just because people believe that I should just play soccer.
“I don’t want to be known just as a great soccer player. I want to be known as a great human being.”
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