Joshua Kimmich says Bayern Munich is planning to join George Floyd protests
Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich says the club is planning on joining the protests against George Floyd’s death and believes white players should stand with their black teammates in showing solidarity.
Jadon Sancho, Achraf Hakimi, Weston McKennie and Marcus Thuram all made protests during Bundesliga matches over the weekend and Kimmich says all players have the “responsibility” to stand up to the scourge of racism, not only in football but also in society.
“I think it’s good that it’s not just one player [protesting] and maybe it’s also an option to say something as a team,” Kimmich said. “We’re one world, one club, one football team and it doesn’t matter if you are black or white.
“We as footballers, like Sancho, have a lot of power to reach other people, to be a role model and to say something because what we say, people outside listen and so this is a big chance to make a statement.
“As a football player, you have a big power in this world and so my opinion is that we can feel this responsibility and we’re able to say something like Sancho did.”
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After opening an investigation into the four players’ protests, the German Football Association (DFB) announced on Wednesday that it would not be taking action as they were “deliberate actions of anti-racism by the players, who are thus campaigning for the very values which the DFB seeks to uphold.”
It also confirmed that similar protests in the coming weeks would go unpunished.
Kimmich notes that German football has seen incidents of racist abuse this season and says Bayern’s players can do more to emphasize the anti-racism campaign the club launched earlier this year.
“Of course we discussed it [making protests as a team] and maybe we can do something,” Kimmich added. “We maybe have to do something because we cannot give something like this [racism] a place.
“We as players on Instagram or on social media, we can take our voice and use our power to reach the other people that this won’t happen in the future anymore. And I think everybody has to stay together and fight against this racism, in football and in society.”
