Weston McKennie ready to 'take the consequences' for George Floyd tribute
"If I have to take the consequences to express my opinion, to express my feelings, to stand up for what I believe in, then that's something that I have to do," says Schalke's Weston McKennie.
Schalke 04 midfielder Weston McKennie was one of several Bundesliga players, who paid tribute to George Floyd on the pitch over the weekend.
The U.S. international wore an armband with the message 'Justice for George' during Saturday's Bundesliga encounter with Werder Bremen to show his support for Floyd, who died in Minneapolis last week during an arrest by a police officer.
Floyd's death has led to protests all over the world, and McKennie wanted to use his platform to bring attention to the incident of police brutality, which took place in his home country.
"I felt like it was my responsibility and my duty, especially being American, and with the situation going on in America. And I felt like it was the best and biggest platform that I could use to spread awareness," McKennie told Forbes and added:
"Of course, maybe some people don't agree with it, but that's their opinion and for me, I felt like it was my duty and my responsibility to go out to show justice for George Floyd. This is a problem that’s been going on way too long.
"We're the only league that's playing right now, all eyes are on the Bundesliga. So I felt like there's no better way and no better time than now."
The German Football Association is currently examining tributes made by McKennie, Achraf Hakimi, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Thuram over the weekend, because players aren't allowed to make political statements on the pitch.
For the same reason, the referee asked McKennie to take off his armband on Saturday, but he refused to remove it.
"I was like, 'I'm not taking it off'. There's a rule in the league that you can't make political statements. But I mean, if you really, really look at this as a political statement, then I don't know what to tell you," McKennie said and added:
"The league and everyone [in football] always preaches 'say no to racism'. So I didn't think that there would be a problem. If I have to take the consequences to express my opinion, to express my feelings, to stand up for what I believe in, then that's something that I have to do."