Hamilton wears “Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor” T-shirt at Mugello, looking for justice
The most famous British six-times Formula One (F1) world champion Lewis Hamilton, the only Black competitor who has previously worn a “Black Lives Matter” T-shirt during several F1 races, won the race at Italy’s Mugello circuit and even yesterday did not miss the occasion to take a knee before the start of the Tuscan Grand Prix with a message on his T-shirt saying, “Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor”.
The words “say her name” and a picture of Taylor were on the back of Briton Hamilton’s black shirt as he knelt with other drivers before the anthem as part of the sport’s now-regular anti-racism stance.
The Mercedes driver, 35, wore the Taylor shirt again on the podium as he celebrated victory at the Italian Mugello circuit.
Specifically, Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was miserably murdered by police officers who burst into her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky, in March 2020.
One police officer involved was fired by the city’s police department in June after her assassination, but the police’s decision did not stop the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM) and many supporters of racial justice to not fight for having a world where justice is the same for everyone, despite the colour of someone’s skin. Even though two other officers have been placed on administrative reassignment, no criminal charges have been filed against any of the three.
Many athletes have joined the racial equality cause trying to achieve a change in the high politics across the globe. Another famous sport racial equality supporter is Naomi Osaka, the tennis player who in many occasions wore a face mask with Taylor’s name on it as one of a series of masks she wore on her way to the title and Hamilton hailed the Japanese player’s action.
“It took me a long time to get that shirt,” Hamilton admitted to reporters after the race.
“I’ve been wanting to wear that and bring awareness to the fact that there are people there that have been killed on the street and there’s someone that got killed in her own house. And those guys are still walking free.
“We have to continue to raise awareness with it and Naomi has been doing amazing, so huge congratulations to her. I think she’s an incredible inspiration with what she’s done with her platform.”
Also the Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff declared during the weekend that Hamilton, who has been a prominent campaigner for diversity and racial equality, was free to make whatever anti-racism statement he wanted.
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