Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has voiced support for the three Black England soccer players who missed penalties in the Euro 2020 against Italy, after they were subjected to a torrent of racist abuse on social media.
Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka missed their spot-kicks, as the Italians won 3-2 on penalties, after a 1-1 draw after extra time at Wembley Stadium.
On Instagram, Hamilton, a vocal advocate for social justice, says the abuse suffered by the England trio showed how much still needed to be done in the fight against racism.
"The pressure to deliver is felt by every sportsperson, but when you are a minority representing your country, this is a layered experience," Hamilton says.
"Success would feel like a double victory, but a miss feels like a two-fold failure, when it's compounded with racist abuse.
"We must work towards a society that doesn't require black players to prove their value or place in society only through victory. Ultimately, everyone on the England team should be so proud of their achievement and how they represented us."
Twitter says it had removed more than 1000 tweets and permanently suspended a number of accounts, after the "abhorrent" abuse directed at the players, while Facebook says it had also removed abusive comments and accounts.
"The racial abuse on social media towards our players after yesterday's game is unacceptable," Hamilton adds. "This sort of ignorance has to be stopped.
"Tolerance and respect for players of colour should not be conditional. Our humanity should not be conditional."
Itojes slams "apalling" tweets
British & Irish Lions lock Maro Itoje has joined Hamilton, slamming the "appalling" racist abuse meted out to the trio.
"It's appalling, to be honest," Itoje has told reporters in Cape Town. "It's just incredibly sad to hear, sad to see, it's sad that we have to have this conversation in 2021.
"And this is a large amount of the reason why so much talk is done about racism in sport, because these incidents happen on a semi-regular basis, which is not what anyone wants to see. It's not what anyone wants to hear.
"It's become cliche to say this, but we need to do more. We need to do more to tackle it, we need to do more to get these types of people out of stadiums, we need to do more to tackle this type of football culture that ruins it for a large amount of people."
Arsenal fan Itoje feels particularly sorry for teenager Saka, who was left in tears on the pitch after his miss and has since been a target for abuse.
"As soon as he missed, I knew what was coming. I knew that there was going to be an outrage on social media.
"When he missed the penalty and I saw his reaction after, I just felt so sad for him. He's a young man, he's 19 years old - he's going to play for England for many years to come.
"As athletes, you can take heat when it's about your performance, but when it's about things that are personal like race, things that are completely out of your control, I just think that's unacceptable."
Itoje is in the Lions side that will play South Africa 'A' in Cape Town later this week.
Reuters
