Sierra Leone’s US-based striker Kei Kamara, who joined in the protests this week following the death of George Floyd, says his children and their futures inspired him to make a stance.
Widespread protests have taken place across cities in the United States and globally since Floyd, an unarmed black man died after being pinned down by a white police officer.
Kamara, who plays for MLS club Colorado Rapids, says he was moved by the action of his children who joined him at the protests.
“I lay down on the ground for nine minutes and my son actually then just lay down next to me, without me even asking him, and Kendrick is only three,” Kamara, 35, told Newsday on the BBC World Service.
“He just decided to lay next to me. And I turned around and I saw him and it just hit me so hard, like wow.”
Kamara, who shared his experience of the protests on social media, says the impact of Floyd’s death is far-reaching.
“It’s different because Floyd’s one has definitely woken the whole world – different races, different people from different backgrounds are really standing up with us, the black people, now.”
“Being a black man in America, or around the world being a footballer, a soccer player, it’s been very difficult,” the former Norwich City and Middlesbrough forward said of his experiences with racism.
“It’s something that sometimes we try to turn a blind eye to, but I’m so, so grateful to every other race that’s standing with us now because it’s given us a voice.”
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