Megan Rapinoe: "With regards to racism, all the white players should be outraged every time there's a racist incident"
Saturday 29 August 2020 10:29, UK
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is not expecting the boycotting of sporting events over racial injustice to spread to the UK.
A series of major fixtures in the United States have been postponed in the last two days after NBA stars began boycotting games in protest at the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin last week.
Games in Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the National Hockey League and the WNBA have also been called off.
Klopp was asked about the matter as he held a press conference to preview the Premier League champions' season-opening Community Shield clash with Arsenal on Saturday.
Klopp said: "Whatever actions they take there they will have their reasons for it and I don't see them at the moment coming in England, but we have to see.
"It is a worldwide issue but, at the moment for some specific cases, they are thinking about proper actions in America because another thing happened that shouldn't have happened.
"That is why the players there do what they do but I don't see it coming at the moment in England."
The NBA issued a statement saying the playoffs will resume on Saturday following talks between the league, players and team governors.
Megan Rapinoe, one of the stars of the United States team which won the women's football World Cup in France last year, says "everyone should be outraged" by racism.
She said in a UEFA 'No To Racism' campaign video: "We have such a huge platform, and from an early age on this team I realised you can have such an impact off the field even just by saying something.
"With regards to racism, all the white players should be outraged every time there's a racist incident and a lot of times it's just the player who's having the incident done to them or who's having the abuse put on them, they're the ones that are outraged and everyone else is like, 'OK, we need to calm this down'.
"Everyone should be outraged."
Former West Ham and Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker believes football has the power to 'unite the world' and is hopeful the sport can in time reflect the diversity within the game across different positions.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Reo-Coker said: "I just think the MLS have to lead the way and do what they are doing. It would be down to the other leagues [around Europe] if they want to follow in that direction later on in the future.
"I think that football is the one sport that truly unites the world and it comes in many different colours, many different shades. We are at the point where there should be a greater reflection on what we see on the football pitch at different levels: boardroom level, director of football, administration, doctors, physios.
"I really think they need to give a true reflection of what is on the football pitch and really use the sport as something that unites the world because that is what the power of football has."
Reo-Coker praised the work of the Black Players Coalition of MLS, which was formed in June in an effort to address inequality in the sport amid protests and unrest across the world following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
"I believe that they are world leaders," he said.
"I think what they are doing, the steps that they are taking is unprecedented in football. You look at all the leagues around the world and for them and what they are doing, they are leading the way.
"I think it is fantastic. I think they are being brave but they are standing for something that is bigger than football."
