Earthquakes Player From Pleasanton Calls Out Racism In The U.S.

PLEASANTON, CA — A Pleasanton native now playing for the San Jose Earthquakes soccer team took to the team's website Friday to speak out on racial injustice in the United States.

The comments came from soccer player Jacob Akanyirige in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, both black Americans who died during interactions with police.

“In the past few weeks, the whole world has watched as Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd have been murdered,” the statement reads in part. “One black man is killed for being black, and a few weeks later the same thing happens again."

Akanyirige signed with the Earthquakes at age 17, making him the team's third-youngest signee, according to Amador Valley Today, the student paper of his alma mater.

His message is shared in a series of captioned images on the Earthquakes' webpage, each photo of the athlete emblazoned with his words.

“This is a dangerous cycle that’s been going on for hundreds of years in America and all over the world," one statement reads. "We all need, and deserve change in this world and we are the only ones that can make that happen. Nobody should ever have to be treated differently, let alone lose their lives just because of the way they look."

>>> Read Akanyirige's full statement on the Earthquakes' website.