The Power of Sport: Footballers Speak Out against Injustice After George Floyd Murder | UK News

Footballers have only realized their ability to influence public opinion and highlight injustice in the year since George Floyd’s assassination, said the Aston Villa and England star , Tyrone Mings.

Mings was one of the players who took the knee in the Premier League opener after Floyd’s murder in the United States sparked outrage and led to protests against police brutality and racism around the world whole.

Aston Villa played at Sheffield United last June as the Premier League resumed after a forced 100-day suspension due to COVID-19[female[feminine.

Many Premier League players continue to perform the gesture ahead of kick-off and Mings said the move has amplified the power of sportsmen.

“The power of players in this country today, or of sport in general, has only been realized in the past 12 months since the death of George Floyd,” he told Sky Sports News.

“The players realized that if we wanted to support the NHS, wear BLM on our shirts, take the knee, we can. If all the players are united there is not much to say.”

Some teams stopped taking the knee and Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha said he believed the protest was no longer enough and he felt “degrading” on his knees.

But Mings said the anniversary of George Floyd’s death is a marker in an ongoing effort for equality in sport and society.

“The fact that the message is always in the foreground shows that the work is not lost,” he said.

“The momentum is still there, people still want to understand why that day was a catalyst.

“I think everything that has happened in the last 12 months has been really powerful in football.

“I’ve been at the forefront of some things and I’ve been on a lot of conversations in terms of change and what football can do to be better and more inclusive and get down on the people who. ..