Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling has stressed that the world needs to find a solution to racism just like how world leaders are trying to find a solution to the deadly coronavirus pandemic. He described racism as the most important thing currently affecting the world amid the pandemic.
Since the death of George Floyd, an African-American who was arrested by the police and killed by them on the street of Minnesota in broad daylight, the agitation against racism has been ignited across the world. People of all colours have stormed major cities in the United States of America and other parts of the world to protest against racial discrimination, police brutality and injustice.
As people are seeking justice for George Floyd and other victims of racial abuse on the streets, the traditional media and the social media have been awash with comments from celebrities, especially blacks, backing the agitations.
In the case of Raheem Sterling, the 25-year-old England international stressed that the protest is a good step to finding a solution to racism as far as the protesters are not involved in any criminal acts and the protest is carried out peacefully.
The Manchester City forward has always spoken against racism in football especially as it affects black footballers in the Premier League. He has been singlehandedly agitating against some segment of the British media which give favourable coverage to white footballers.
Hence, now that the fight against racism has gone beyond just British media negative perception of black footballers, Raheem Sterling wants the world to know that racism is the only disease that is being fought.
“I know this might sound a little bit cheesy but the only disease right now is the racism that we are fighting”, he told BBC. This is the most important thing at this moment in time because this is something that is happening for years and years. Just like the pandemic, we want to find a solution to stop it.
“At the same time, this is what all these protesters are doing. They are trying to find a solution and a way to stop the injustice they are seeing, and they are fighting for their cause. As long as they are doing it peacefully and safely and not hurting anybody and not breaking into any stores, they continue to protest in this peaceful way.
“There’s only so many communities and other backgrounds can take – especially black people. It’s been going on for hundreds of years and people are tired and people are ready for change. This is something that needs more than just talking. We need to actually implement change and highlight the places that do need changes.
“But this is something that I myself will continue to do, and spark these debates and get people in my industry looking at themselves and thinking what they can do to give people an equal chance in this country.”
