The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has received massive support from sportstars around the world who have used their platform to protest against the excessive violence that cops have directed against the black community.
In the Formula One world, Lewis Hamilton has made it his mission to stand up for BLM and use every opportunity he gets to campaign for BLM. Hamilton is the only black F1 driver on the circuit and also the most successful F1 driver currently on the circuit with 6 F1 Championship wins and 90 wins.
Hamilton caused a bit of a stir over the weekend when he won the Tuscan Grand Prix and wore a black t-shirt which had the words ‘Arrest The Cops Who Killed Breonna Taylor’.
Guardian Sport
Breonna Taylor was a young black woman from Kentucky, who worked as a medical technician. She was shot 8 times by the cops after they entered her home under a ‘no-knock warrant’ during a narcotics investigation. Her boyfriend Kenneth Walker opened fire assuming it was intruders in the home which caused the police to retaliate and ended in Taylor losing her life.
The cops who shot Breonna Taylor are being investigated to see if their gunfire was a result of self-defense or if they used excessive force. Hamilton and BLM supporters believe that excessive force was used and are fighting for justice for Breonna. The back of Hamilton’s t-shirt had Breonna Taylor’s face with the words ‘Say Her Name’.
Hamilton partially got what he wanted by wearing the t-shirt to the Tuscan Grand Prix as loads of media channels covered the event and focused on his t-shirt. The International Automobile Federation (FIA) is also paying close attention and is considering launching an investigation into the matter to see if Hamilton violated any rules ahead of the next Grand Prix set to take place in Russia.
FIA’s rules prevent F1 teams from promoting anything that is political, racial or religious in its content. However, the rules are not clear as to what F1 drivers are allowed to do and not do.
Mercedes has thrown their full support behind Lewis Hamilton as their top boss Toto Wolff said they completely stand behind Hamilton’s protests as they believe he is protesting over human rights issues and not making any political protests. Wolff went on to say that the team at Mercedes have always stood against any form of injustice and would support Lewis all the way.
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