Ashamed that I did not fight hard enough against racism, admits Gary Neville

The recent death of George Floyd in the US has triggered worldwide protests in the fight against racism and even gave a boost to the Black Lives Matter movement. Many sports personalities, who have been victims of racist slurs previously, have voiced their opinions regarding the disease which has been prevalent around the world for centuries. Former English footballer Gary Neville recently admitted that he’s ashamed of the fact that he did not fight harder against racism and players' rights during his heyday.

“It’s appalling and I’m ashamed of the fact for someone who ... fought for players’ rights at nearly every level, I didn’t fight hard enough on this. The reality is we put racial abuse in the same category as the abuse we would receive for playing for Manchester United or England. We didn’t think. We just got on with it,” said Gary Neville, as reported by Reuters.

Social media has been flooded with protests against racism with people from different spheres coming in support of victims. Even though the recent developments have created awareness, the former Manchester United star feels that words and campaigns are not enough to eradicate racism, rather people need to be educated and actions are needed to be taken to bring about a change.

“Forget campaigns. Forget words. It has to be actions; We need to take a giant leap rather than minute steps each year. “I’m not going to hide away from it. We need education; we need protocols and processes in place which basically reverse what’s been happening in our country,” added the two-time Champions League winner.