Philadelphia soccer team wears jerseys bearing the names of Black victims of police brutality

The Philadelphia Union returned to the soccer field in full force Thursday morning, beating NYCFC 1-0. But instead of their own names on the back of their jerseys, the team came out wearing the names of the many Black victims who lost their lives due to police brutality.

Their jerseys were emblazoned with the last names of Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Alton Sterling, Tamir Rice, Philando Castille, Sandra Bland and other Black men, women, boys and girls who died at the hands of police.

Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake bore the last name of George Floyd, whose death sparked protests around the world demanding racial equality.

At the bottom of their jerseys was another message: “One name too many.”

The team also tweeted that the players created a custom armband for captain Alejandro Bedoya that had all the names of the Black victims for Bedoya to wear for the MLS is Back Tournament.

When Major League Soccer returned Wednesday night in Orlando, Florida, more than 100 people took part in a pregame protest.

The members of Black Players for Change raised a gloved fist and the starters for the Orlando City and Inter Miami teams knelt in silence for eight minutes and 46 seconds in tribute to Floyd.

In May, Floyd died when ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for an initially reported eight minutes and 46 seconds.