BERN (Reuters) – World soccer’s governing body FIFA has joined sports leagues, teams and players around the globe to express solidarity amid outrage over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed in police custody in the United States.
The National Football League, National Hockey League and National Basketball Association have put out statements about the racial injustice that sparked protests across the U.S. but Major League Baseball has yet to make an official statement.
From those four leagues, 74 of 123 teams (60%) have issued statements on the protests according to research by Axios.
Only four of the NBA’s 30 teams have not issued releases while fewer than half (15) of the NFL’s 32 teams and just a third (10) of MLB’s 30 clubs made statements.
Across those leagues the loudest support has come from the players, including Los Angeles Lakers’ Lebron James, New Jersey Devils defenseman PK Subban, Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl-winning quarterback Patrick Mahomes and New York Yankees slugger Gincarlo Stanton.
Charlotte Hornets and owner and former NBA great Michael Jordan and golfer Tiger Woods, who rarely speak out on social issues, have also called for change.
The voices of outrage, however, are being heard well beyond U.S. borders.
