Seattle Sounders players continued to use their voice in the fight against systemic racism and police brutality ahead of their game against LAFC on Friday night, calling for action over the killing of Manny Ellis.
During their warmups at CenturyLink Field on Friday, Sounders players wore T-shirts bearing the words "Justice for Manny Ellis" and later posed in front of a banner relaying the same message.
Ellis, a Black man, was killed by police in Tacoma, Washington, in March with his death ruled a homicide by asphyxiation by medical examiners. In a video of the killing, Ellis can be heard pleading "I can't breathe," just as George Floyd had done while being killed by a police officer in Minneapolis in an incident that sparked worldwide protests earlier this year.
Another video appeared to show Ellis being placed in a chokehold by police. Washington Governor Jay Inslee has ordered an investigation into Ellis' death. None of the officers involved have yet been charged.
"We wore Manuel Ellis’ shirt because, you know, with what's been going on with the social inequality and the Black Lives Matter movement, a lot has happened in this country, and obviously George Floyd’s unnecessary murder is the thing that got caught on camera, was very, very brutal for everybody to see," Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei said after the game.
"But we wanted to make a statement that this is happening also you know in our backyard and happening just about the same time and just something that is happening everywhere. And for us, I think we want it to raise awareness that we're also not just jumping on a bandwagon but we're looking at our neighborhood and how we can maybe help our community to find a solution and to bring awareness as well."
