US Men’s Soccer Player DeAndre Yedlin Opens Up About The Heartbreaking Reason His Grandfather Is Glad He Lives Outside The US

DeAndre Yedlin is from Washington, went to college at University of Akron, and played for MLS’s Seattle Sounders before he moved overseas to play for the Premier League. Soccer is a sport that has historically had its own issues with racism so Yedlin’s perspective is likely as well-rounded as anyone’s at 26 years old.

And that doesn’t compare to a black man in America who’s seen the residual effects of World War II, who lived through the Civil Rights era and who STILL has to fear for the safety of his professional athlete grandson.

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Today is a day to listen to many stories from black friends, peers and voices. And you’ll hear a lot about uncomfortable situations, ones that people of other backgrounds never experience. Violence, discrimination, outright contempt from people who share the same country.

But those dramatic moments are not the only inicidents of racism that guys like Yedlin or his family encounter. There are countless little moments that define who they are and how it feels like the world treats them. The fact that DeAndre Yedlin wears red white and blue and represents our country as best he can and his grandfather, who lived through some of the greatest racial strife in Amercan history, would fear for his life in America NOW says as much as other overtly racist situations.

Black lives matter and no man or woman of color who represents our country should ever feel like a stranger in their own land.

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