KISSIMMEE, FLA. — Nearly 200 players took the field for an 8-minute, 46-second moment of silence to protest racial injustice before Major League Soccer’s return Wednesday night.
Players wore black T-shirts, black gloves and black face masks emblazoned with “Black Lives Matter.” The shirts had varying slogans that included “Black And Proud,” “Silence Is Violence” and “Black All The Time.”
The players walked toward midfield, raised their right arms one at a time and held the pose so long that some could be seen stretching fatigued muscles afterward.
It was a poignant moment that put two of the nation’s most prominent changes over the last four months — masks and movements — at the forefront of the league’s return.