Graham Potter: Educating ourselves on racism is the best way to show our support

The country has witnessed anti-racism protests which have spread across the globe in response to the killing of George Floyd in the United States and Potter is keen for himself and his players to have a deeper understanding of the subject.

Potter said: “I’ve been speaking to the players and the players have been speaking to the club. Our stance as a club is that we are totally against racism in all its forms.

“From a group of players, we want to talk about it and understand the situation in a deeper way. I think we will do something to show our support for a really, really important campaign.”

Potter admitted it's not an easy subject for him to discuss with the media as he has never had to experience it. He added: “The biggest challenge for us all is for us to understand there is an historical context to this. Education can help, otherwise we take things on face value.

“We have to understand the historical context, we have to educate ourselves to be in this society. It’s not something that is easy for me to speak about because I’m white and I haven’t experienced racism.

“But I need to understand more, and read more, and educate myself more as to why it is a disadvantage in this country, if you look at most socio-economic areas, to be black.

“That’s something we have to understand on an historical level to face the challenges we face at the moment.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta - who will bring his team to the Amex on June 20 as the Premier League campaign resumes - said he was proud of his players for their support of the Black Lives Matter campaign ahead of their friendly with Brentford on Wednesday.

The Gunners wore t-shirts with a variety of messages on them, such as 'I can't breathe', 'My skin is not a crime' and 'I'm not black but I stand with you', in support of the protests going on around the world. They also took a knee before kick-off.

It's not just football who are supporting the movement. The PGA Tour is back this week at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, with players observing a moment's silence at 8.46am - honouring Floyd.

World No 1 Rory McIlory is one of several big names to support the move and the wider issues involved. "Not using that tee time is a wonderful gesture," he said.

The act of kneeling has become a symbolic way to show support, popularised by American football player Colin Kaepernick, and many sports people are expected to do so as competitions emerge from the coronavirus shutdown.

The International Olympic Committee plans to consult with athletes about whether the gesture - previously banned from podiums - should be approved when the delayed Games go ahead next year in Tokyo.

West Indies captain Jason Holder also said his team will consider taking the knee during next month's Test series against England, an act of solidarity with Black Lives Matter.

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