Players throughout Major League Soccer formed a new Black Players Coalition, announcing the establishment of the group Friday during the first league-wide celebration of Juneteenth.
The Black Players Coalition was formed to offer a unified voice for black players throughout the league. The coalition is also partnering with MLS to create anti-racist initiatives within the league and in communities in each MLS market.
“As we celebrate Juneteenth and the coming together of our coalition, we must remind ourselves that such progressivism was once met with vehement backlash,” the statement read. “May this reminder serve as a warning to us all that confronting systemic racism head-on will never be a smooth, constantly upward trending path, but rather a timeless battle that will force us to reinvent the very essence of our institutions.