Nedum Onuoha
Nigerian and USA player who played his football with Manchester City Nedum Onuoha who currently plays for Utah-based Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer after spending six years at Queen’s Park Rangers in England has come out to speak following the George Floyd murder to say he never goes out feeling 100% safe in USA.
According to Nedum Onuoha he said: “I am always very wary of how I behave and how it could be viewed by people who have power.” “For me personally, overall I don’t like to say it but I have a fear and distrust towards police,” he added. All this is a result of the murder of an unarmed black American by a police officer in Minneapolis USA.
There have since been a widespread protests across 75 US cities since George Floyd murder by a white police officer in Minneapolis, the police officer Derek Chauvin, who kneeled on Floyd’s neck, has however been charged with murder. He and three other police officers have been discharged from the police as well.
Sports stars have added their voices on social media with a ‘blackout‘ uploading a black image alongside a message of support. former Manchester City star Nedum Onuoha backed the protestors by saying: “It is emotional; it is something that is overdue, to be honest. There has been a big wave of energy towards this, there has been a lot of talk about George Floyd these issues have been around for decades.
Nedum Onuoha also said: “People have been trying to make noise. I have been trying to say things but it gets pushed away for too long. Enough is enough; what gives me strength is that it’s not just black people who are protesting now.” “The change will come but within that, there are so many nuanced things within the protest for example, a lot of black people are scared to do what some of the white people are doing to the police.”
He further states that: “It’s crazy to see but it is very necessary. I am not going to say to them that they shouldn’t do anything because they haven’t been heard for this long so let them be heard now.” He said: “I have loved living in this country but there is [another] side of it.
comparing the US to the Uk he said: “In the UK, I am more comfortable because if something happens it probably will not be deadly but over here because of their rights it is more common that altercations become deadly. I am always very aware of that whenever I go around anywhere. ” “I am comfortable but when it comes to any kind of brutality, if it’s from the police, if they read me the wrong way then my life could be taken. I feel that every single day. It is not just me but everybody else as well.
“I am not trying to be overly critical to the police, there are plenty of good police officers out there, but sometimes I feel like people put police on a pedestal and make them seem superhuman. “But the fact is over here they are just people from society with a badge and a gun and a lot more power. “If you worry about the man next door, why would you not worry about the person patrolling the streets who now has more power, more guns but the same views? “I never go out and feel 100% safe” Nedum Onuoha concluded.