Serena Williams spoke out against the killing of young black men by police on Tuesday, writing on Facebook: “As Dr Martin Luther King said ‘There comes a time when silence is betrayal’. I won’t be silent.”
Describing a recent car journey in which she was driven by her teenage nephew, the US tennis champion wrote: “In the distance I saw cop on the side of the road. I quickly checked to see if he was obliging by the speed limit. [Then] I remembered that horrible video of the woman in the car when a cop shot her boyfriend.”
Referring to the fatal shooting of Philando Castile, whose girlfriend live-streamed the aftermath of the killing on Facebook, the athlete continued: “I even regretted not driving myself. I would never forgive myself if something happened to my nephew. He’s so innocent. So were all ‘the others'”.
Williams’ intervention is the most high profile in US sports since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to remain seated during the national anthem sparked a wave of protests last month.
Read the full post, below.
Credits
Text Matthew Whitehouse
Photography Jimmy Baikovicius