Boston athletes stand up to racial injustice
With protests taking place all over the world following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Boston athletes have taken advantage of their down-time by getting out and letting their voices be heard.
Jaylen Brown drove 15 hours from Boston to his hometown of Atlanta to lead a peaceful protest:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA3USKGFrya/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Enes Kanter was heavily involved in some of the Boston protests:
Change cannot wait.
(via @wcvb) pic.twitter.com/PUx2NK1v1n
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) June 6, 2020
Patrice Bergeron made an incredibly impactful statement on the Bruins’ social media pages. This is especially important coming from a guy who plays in a sport that’s 97% white:
A statement from Patrice Bergeron.
To those who wish to support:
NAACP Boston: https://t.co/uXXPUDXivO
Centre Multiethnique de Quebec: https://t.co/aS9a57RWOi pic.twitter.com/IVKU1hMNd6
— x – Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) June 3, 2020
Former Red Sox star Mookie Betts demands action in a heartfelt Instagram post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA3qvrRluBZ/
Brad Stevens delivered a stern message on the Celtics social media pages:
Listen, learn, engage, participate and act.
We’re all in this together #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/hGNBiyL2Fr
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) June 5, 2020
Devin and Jason McCourty condemned Drew Brees’ kneeling comments:
This is a disgrace! To speak about your grandfathers as if there weren’t black men fighting next to them.Those men later returned to a country that hated them. Don’t avoid the issue and try to make it about a flag or the military. Fight like your grandfathers for whats right! https://t.co/qag3Igic3V
— Devin&Jason McCourty (@McCourtyTwins) June 3, 2020
They’ve also been vocal on their podcast “Double Coverage”, which is available on all platforms.
Zdeno Chara took part in Boston protests and shared a thoughtful sentiment on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBGKQtABFjG/?igshid=vsjvzlunopvw
Former Celtic Aron Baynes gave a humble and honest depiction of his outside view on racism as a white man with privilege:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA_mUiYgLOe/?igshid=8guh97ebvtlf
Plenty of athletes also took part in #BlackOutTuesday on social media, including Tom Brady, David Ortiz, Rob Gronkowski, Brad Marchand, and more.
The absence of professional sports has given these guys more time to take a stand and put their words into action, and many of them are making sure they don’t miss that opportunity.