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Watch: USMNT stars release powerful video protesting police brutality

doug mcintyre
·2 min read
United States midfielder Weston McKennie posted a video featuring more than two dozen athletes, including U.S. teammate Christian Pulisic, speaking out against police brutality. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
United States midfielder Weston McKennie posted a video featuring more than two dozen athletes, including U.S. teammate Christian Pulisic, speaking out against police brutality. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

More than two dozen athletes — most of them American soccer players — appear in a new video protesting police brutality that was posted to USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie’s Twitter account on Wednesday.

The message? Enough is enough.

The United States has been beset by coast-to-coast demonstrations since last week, when George Floyd was killed while in police custody in Minnesota. Video of the incident immediately sparked outrage around the globe.

“This has been going on for way too long,” McKennie, who wore a “Justice for George” armband during a Bundesliga match last weekend, says as the video begins. “To the cops out there that continue to abuse their power, the world is watching now. Enough is enough.”

The phrase is then repeated on-camera by the athletes. Images of police officers beating, shooting and tasing citizens — including one of former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin, who kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes as Floyd pleaded for his life — are interspersed throughout. Chauvin was fired and charged with third-degree murder, upgraded to second-degree murder on Wednesday.

McKennie is joined on the video by fellow USMNT players Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Jozy Altidore, Reggie Cannon, Sean Johnson, Jonathan Lewis, Giovanni Reyna, Josh Sargent, Zack Steffen, Tim Weah and DeAndre Yedlin. Recently retired USMNT legends DaMarcus Beasley and Clint Dempsey also appear, as does 2019 Women’s World Cup winner Mal Pugh of the USWNT.

A number of non-American soccer players were also featured, including Pulisic’s Chelsea teammate and German international Antonio Rüdiger and Canadian international and Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies. Even a pair of NBA players make an appearance: Larry Nance Jr. of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cristiano Felício of the Chicago Bulls.

McKennie also tweeted a link to how you can support the Black Lives Matter movement.

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