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Over the past couple of weeks, Liverpool players, individually and as a squad, have made statements in support of the Black Lives Matter protests that were sparked by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the police. Some of these statements were very personal, and some were a show of allyship and unity. Earlier this week, the Premier League players said they would wear jerseys with Black Lives Matter in place of their names on the back.
While it has been heartening to many to see players, and the squad as a whole, speak up, there have unfortunately been some Liverpool “fans” who have whined and complained on twitter and other corners of the internet. These people repeated the tired tropes of “all lives matter”, and “keep politics out of sport”. Some of these people felt it worth their time to respond to or tag official LFC accounts and those of the LFC hierarchy on twitter. While many LFC fans jumped in to call these people out, Peter Moore and official LFC accounts also took the time to respond in a couple of cases.
Moore, the Liverpool FC CEO, came out with a strong response to a dog whistle “white lives matter” tweet in response to the team taking a knee in a show of unity (graphic images in the original tweet):
You’ve posted hundreds of racist tweets in the last 48 hours,yet you probably cheered when Gini brought us back from the brink against Barca, when Divock clinched number 6 in Madrid,or when Sadio scored that stunner against Bayern. I feel sad for you and your conflicted values...
On Friday, purported season ticket holder responded to the club saying she would cancel her tickets if the club wore Black Lives Matter on the back of their jerseys. The official LFC Help account responded with a strong and clear statement on where the team stood.
Sorry you feel this way but our values as a club incorporate equality, diversity and inclusion. Black Lives Matter is not merely a slogan, it is a principle that our players and the club as a whole support unequivocally. (1/3)
— @LFCHelp (@LFCHelp) June 12, 2020
It is nice to see Peter Moore and the club step up to make these statements in instances where they could just as easily stayed quiet. It is also a good reminder to all of us to speak up and speak out.