Black Lives Matter: Sports Stars and Brands Against Racism

The death of African-American George Floyd in a violent arrest has sparked a wave of protest in the USA against racism and police violence. The world of sport is also taking a stand.

In the social media, sports celebrities from all over the world posted statements against racism and discrimination:

In his active career, NBA superstar Michael Jordan was not known to talk about political or social issues. This makes his current statement all the more important.

In the past, NBA star LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers has drawn attention to police violence against minorities. This time, James is also taking the floor.

The Black Lives Matter movement and its associated hashtag are committed to opposing violence against blacks and people of color, respectively. Black Lives Matter regularly organizes protests against the killing of blacks by law enforcement officials and on broader issues such as racial profiling, police violence and racism.

Six-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton also uses the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, which has been used in social networks since 2013.

According to Forbes, Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka is the world's highest earning sportswoman. The world number ten is the only woman in the top 100 richest sportswomen and sportsmen alongside Serena Williams (9th in the WTA world rankings). Osaka is ranked 29th in the Forbes Ranking 2020 with annual revenues of 37.4 million dollars, Serena Williams is ranked 33rd with 36 million dollars.

Simone Biles is the most successful gymnast in history with 25 World Championship medals. In addition, she has won four Olympic gold medals and one Olympic bronze medal.

As the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers at the time, Colin Kaepernick was one of the key players in 2016 in the fight of athletes against racism and discrimination. During the obligatory US anthem before NFL games, Kaepernick knelt on the sidelines. Several NFL players joined his anthem protest at that time. Kaepernick, however, was sharply criticized by US President Donald Trump.

The San Francisco 49ers did not extend Kaepernick's expiring contract in early 2017. Since then, the former Super Bowl participant has been without a team.

The US-American Mikaela Shiffrin has dominated the women's alpine skiing world cup for years. On Twitter, she has a strong opinion about the current situation.

The Russian Alexander Ovechkin has been one of the top stars in the NHL for years. He plays at the Washington Capitals and makes an appeal to society via Twitter.

When Adidas retweets a tweet from its main competitor Nike, there must be a good reason:

Sporting goods manufacturer Puma calls for donations to the Minnesota Freedom Fund. George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota by police violence.

Outdoor brands such as Arc'teryx, Columbia Sportswear, Patagonia or The North Face also publicly opposed racism and discrimination.