Black Players Coalition of MLS formed to address the racial inequalities in MLS
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Jun 20, 2020
The organization, announced on Juneteenth, will address the racial inequalities in MLS, work with those fighting racism in the world of soccer and work on positively impacting black communities across the United States and Canada.
The Black Players Coalition of MLS will lobby for initiatives like implicit bias training, cultural education courses and diversification hiring practices.
In a statement, MLS said it proudly recognized and supported the Black Players Coalition of MLS and looked forward to working with it on addressing league issues.
Toronto FC's Justin Morrow will serve as the organization's executive director. Board members are Ray Gaddis, CJ Sapong, Quincy Amarikwa, Kendall Waston, Jeremy Ebobisse, Sean Johnson, Bill Hamid, Earl Edwards Jr., Jalil Anibaba, Kei Kamara and Ike Opara.
So far, $75,000 in charitable contributions has been secured by the MLS Players Association on behalf of the Coalition.
2 comments about "Black Players Coalition of MLS formed to address the racial inequalities in MLS".
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I always felt that there were way too many foreign players and not enough American players in MLS. Perhaps this would be a good time to send many of them back to their home countries and replace them with American players so we can develop more American players and grow the sport faster in the USA.
Agreed, but it has little to do with BLM. What I find striking about the major European leagues and even the less prominent ones like the Erdeviste, the Jupiler Pro League and the Austrian Bundesliga is the willingness of coaches to put very young and inexperienced players from all different countries onto the field in matches of considerable importance. So the youngsters get trial by fire and often develop quickly into impact players. Not so with MLS, which seems obsessed with entertainment value and attracts Ibra and others to put on a show, leaving the young players on the outside looking in, if lucky playing in a lower division. Of course, the development and recruitment of young players is much needed here in the US.