In Hitler’s Olympics Stadium, A Soccer Team Kneels To Protest Racism
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Ari Feldman October 16, 2017
In the stadium where Adolph Hitler watched the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Berlin’s football club kneeled last week in solidarity with American pro football players protesting the national anthem.
The symbolic protest, carried out before a game, is believed to be the first such protest by an entire sports team outside the U.S., the Comeback reported.
All 18 players on Bertha’s team — with players from ten different countries — kneeled, as did the coaching staff.
“Berlin is colorful,” the announcer said as the team took a knee. “Hertha BSC stands for diversity and against violence. For this reason, we are joining forces with the protest of our fellow American athletes to take a stand against discrimination. For a tolerant Berlin, both now and forevermore.”
Like most European soccer leagues, Hertha’s league, the Bundesliga, does not require that a country’s national anthem be played before a match.
Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
