Lewis Hamilton has strongly condemned the racist remarks towards a number of players in the English national team. He is not the only one: The FA, Prince William and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have already expressed their disapproval of the remarks.
After losing the European Championship final against Italy, racist comments appeared on social media against three players of the English football team. Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all missed a penalty kick in the penalty shootout to determine the winner. The penalty shootout was won 3-2 by Italy.
Hamilton
On his Instagram page Hamilton writes: "So much was running through my mind as a watched the final moments of the match last night. On one hand I was so proud of how far we have come, to be in the final and with such a diverse team is a huge achievement we should all be proud of."
Furthermore, the Mercedes driver states that he was worried when the penalties had to be taken. "The pressure to deliver is felt by every sportsperson but when you are a minority representing your country this is a layered experience. However, the disgusting behaviour by the few, shows how much work that still needs to be done. I hope that this opens a conversation around acceptance. We must work towards a society that doesn’t require Black players to prove their value or place in society only through victory," Hamilton said.