MLS players asks US Senate to pass George Floyd Act on anniversary

George Floyd died on 25 March 2020 from a lack of oxygen during his arrest by former, and since convicted, Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin. His death sparked the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States and on his one-year anniversary Major League Soccer is urging the US Senate to pass George Floyd Justice in Police Act.

Many MLS players have been very vocal on social media demanding congress to pass the police reform bill that includes attempts to end racial and religious profiling in federal, state and local law enforcement. Other components of this bill are to ban chokeholds and no knock warrants, require body cameras, eliminate qualified immunity for law enforcement and more.

Message from the Black MLS Players Association

“Communicating that to us, I felt like it was the perfect opportunity for us to collaborate because I just think it’s the most meaningful thing that we can do in memory of George Floyd,” Toronto FC defender and Black Players for Change executive director, Justin Morrow, told ESPN. “Pass some real reform that’s going to change things.”

“The biggest thing is qualified immunity,” Morrow specified. “That’s something that we absolutely have to change. It’s something that’s a big part of the bill, but there are other parts of police reform in there.”