The protests over racial injustice in the United States have reignited a movement, and the black players in Major League Soccer have joined forces to bring that movement to the league office. This morning, the 70+ black players in the league announced that they have formed the Black Players Coalition of MLS, an organization that seeks to systematically reform how the league interacts with black players and the black community.
@BPCMLS is about giving BLACK PLAYERS in MLS a VOICE and making SYSTEMIC CHANGE both in & outside of our league.https://t.co/wO79U8iKST#MLSisBLACK pic.twitter.com/t2oaHtzfjD
— Black Players Coalition of MLS (@BPCMLS) June 19, 2020
In a statement, released in conjunction with national commemorations of Juneteenth, the Black Players Coalition of MLS said its mission “will address the racial inequalities in our league, stand with all those fighting racism in the world of soccer, and positively impact black communities across the United States and Canada.” Toronto FC and United States Men’s National Team defender Justin Morrow is serving as the executive director of the Coalition, while Ray Gaddis, CJ Sapong, Quincy Amarikwa, Kendall Watson, Jeremy Ebobisse, Sean Johnson, Bill Hamid, Earl Edwards Jr, Jalil Anibaba, Kei Kamara, and Ike Opara will serve on the board of directors. The BPC has already secured funding and is working in conjunction with the MLSPA and MLS on racial issues.
Among the initiatives the BPC will push Major League Soccer to implement immediately are implicit bias training of all staff and employees, cultural education courses, and the hiring of a chief diversity officer by Major League Soccer who will specifically focus on issues facing minority players in the league and diversifying their hiring practices.
Philadelphia Union defender Ray Gaddis, in a virtual conference call, said that the players wanted to use their platform as athletes to “be a voice for the voiceless,” and the players are unified in pushing the league to do more to develop the game in black communities around the country. Justin Morrow, in a tweet this morning, simply put “There will be change,” with a quote retweet to the BPC’s statement and the hashtag #MLSIsBlack. Other players followed:
There will be change ✊ #MLSisBlack https://t.co/LwFDRbsb2T
— Justin Morrow (@justmorrow) June 19, 2020
There will be change ✊ #mlsisblack https://t.co/M36H4ox9cC
— Jalil Anibaba (@jalil_anibaba4) June 19, 2020
There will be change. ✊ #MLSisBlack pic.twitter.com/nr31iijOKf
— CJ Sapong (@BigAfrika88) June 19, 2020
Quincy Amarikwa introduced the organization on his news outlet, Perfect Soccer Skills, announcing that the website will be the temporary home of updates for the Black Players Coalition, but the Coalition has already established accounts on Twitter and Instagram. MLS, in a statement, expressed its support of the players that are banding together to form this organization. “MLS proudly recognizes and supports the Black Players Coalition of MLS. — a group of players who today, on Juneteenth, have established themselves as influential change leaders.”
MLS supports the @BPCMLS #MLSisBlack. pic.twitter.com/DoELrjrtl7
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 19, 2020
Morrow gave credit to Amarikwa for his ability to organize the players, who expressed frustration and disappointment that it “took what happened to [George] Floyd to wake everybody up,” but he had high hopes for the organization’s potential to make an impact on the league. Amarikwa added in the virtual press call, “Our willingness to work through our collective issues and problems together, and understand that we’re all in this together, and we all have separate experiences and perspectives, is proof to me that this is not going to be a flash in the pan.”