Not all Formula One racers kneel to support the Black Lives Matter Movement, but they wore shirts with social justice messages like "Black Lives Matter" or "End Racism to support protest against incidents of police brutality against African-American people. 

Formula One Racers
(Photo : Reutersconnect)
Formula One F1 - Austrian Grand Prix - Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Styria, Austria - July 5, 2020 Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and the rest of the drivers kneel on the grid wearing an anti-racism T-shirt before the race.

Formula One racers are divided into showing how they support the Black Lives Matter Movement. The race has been put into pause for nearly three months due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

All of the 20 racers congregated at the starting line before the Austrian Grand Prix began. However, not all of them did the traditional kneel as a sign to support the Black Lives Matter Movement, according to CNN News.

Lewis Hamilton who has been very vocal in supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement wore a shirt with the social justice message. Meanwhile, other Formula One racers wore the "End Racism" statement.

Ferrari driver Leclerc posted a series of tweets before the race began. He explained why he had chosen not to kneel.

Leclerc wrote that 20 racers are united with their teams against racism and prejudice. He also added that the 20 Formula One racers embrace the principles of diversity, equality, and inclusion.

He also explained that what matters is how everyone acts and behaves to end racism rather than formal gestures alone that could be controversial to some countries. He defended himself, saying he did not kneel, but it does not mean that he is not supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Another player who did not kneel was Verstappen, who also defended himself for not doing the gesture. He said that he is very committed to equality and fight as well to end racism. However, he firmly believed that everyone has the right on how to express themselves in supporting the movement.

He hoped that everyone will be respected of their personal choice on how they support the Black Lives Matter Movement. 

There are four other racers who also did not kneel. These were Daniil Kvyat, Carlos Sainz, Antonio Giovinazzi, and Kimi Raikkonen. Overall, there were six players, who did not kneel, but all of them wore social justice messages.

More sports league players across the globe are now unifying to end racism. The National Basketball Association (NBA) recently approved to allow their players to wear social justice messages as the season resumes this month,

Instead of wearing their last name, some NBA players will have social justice messages like "I Can't Breathe" or "Black Lives Matter."

However, it is not clear if the league already got the permission of the families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and other African-American families to wear their names on their jerseys.

It can be remembered in the previous report of Latin Post that National Basketball Player Association President Chris Paul tried to communicate with the families of African-Americans, who died under police brutality. 

This will be a sign for other leagues across the globe to do the same and show awareness to end racism in any form. 

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