In an exclusive interview, the Schalke and US midfielder describes suffering racist abuse, paying tribute to George Floyd and the global fight against racism.
When Weston McKennie saw the video of George Floyd being killed, he knew he had to do something to pay respects to the man whose life was taken.
The FC Schalke 04 and USMNT midfielder wore a black armband during Saturday’s Bundesliga match against Werder Bremen with a written message: “Justice for George”.
“I felt like it was my responsibility and my duty, especially being American, and with the situation going on in America,” McKennie told me in a Zoom interview.
“And I felt like it was the best and biggest platform that I could use to spread awareness. Of course, maybe some people don’t agree with it, but that’s their opinion and for me, I felt like it was my duty and my responsibility to go out to show justice for George Floyd. This is a problem that’s been going on way too long.
“We’re the only (soccer) league that’s playing right now, all eyes are on the Bundesliga. So I felt like there’s no better way and no better time than now.”
It was McKennie’s teammates who alerted him to the video that showed Floyd, a black man, gasping for breath while a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He and three other officers have been fired.
“I wouldn’t even say that it was surprising, but it definitely was sickening. When a man of that age cries out for his mother, his dead mother, he’s essentially crying out ‘please help me’. He knows that he’s not going to make it out. It’s hard to watch,” McKennie said.
“Many of my teammates here saw it and are also disgusted. It’s something that touches you in a different way. It’s too much and it needs to be brought to attention. It needs to stop.
“There are too many social injustices and too many police brutality incidences where they say ‘it’s an accident’. An accident happens once or twice, but when it’s happened so many times like it has now, it can’t be overlooked anymore.
