Minnesota United midfielder Jacori Hayes has been outspoken since George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis. Heās penned a personal essay and even appeared on The Call Up to discuss issues of racism and inequality.
Hayes continues to make his voice heard, recently visiting where Floydās last steps were. He recounted the experience during a Pioneer Press article.
āI ended up staying one or two minutes and walked away,ā Hayes said. āI have mixed feelings about going down there just because I saw him die. Part of me didnāt want to make it feel like a tourist event, like Iām going down there to take photos and say, āYeah, I went there.ā Personally, I didnāt want to be insensitive.ā
Hayes also pointed to ex-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and how some ridiculed him protesting by kneeling during the national anthem. That national discourse created pause, Hayes said, but now a sparkās occurred that makes him more outspoken.
āWe all know what happened with Colin Kaepernick, and you feel like maybe itās not the time or place,ā Hayes said. āYou donāt want to jeopardize your own personal career doing it. That has always been in the back of my mind. At some point, itās got to be enough is enough. Itās bigger than soccer or a personal career; itās about helping out other people.ā
For more from Hayes, who awaits his Loons debut after being acquired via trade from FC Dallas, check out the full story here.