'Outraged' US athletes: Trump’s government doing the 'dirty work for the ruling class'
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President Donald Trump accepts a peace award from FIFA, the international governing body of soccer, during the World Cup drawing on Dec. 5. (White House)
U.S. athletes are openly calling out President Donald Trump’s America as a fascist regime after federal agents shot and killed a second civilian in Minneapolis.
After the slaying, players have argued that it's an example of federal overreach and proof of a slide into authoritarianism, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.
Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton posted on X shortly after the recent shooting. “Alex Pretti was murdered," he wrote.
Ex-Seahawks star Doug Baldwin, who once organized teammates against Trump, echoed the same sentiment.
“How could you not be upset? I mean, no matter where you land on the political spectrum, I would hope that human decency would consider the human toll of these situations,” Baldwin continued. “… We shouldn’t be surprised though. Human history is riddled with our struggle to live on this planet together. History also gives us a blueprint of how to combat these challenges. In my humble opinion, love, discipline, and endurance towards the struggles currently, and the ones that may or may not come, is what will be necessary. Our ancestors did it, and so I know we will as well.
“It does feel bleak, at times, right now. And, sadly, I am expecting it to get worse before it gets better. But I know it will get better," he added.
He went on to caution that this picture would be more clearly on display during the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.
Former FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, commented on Monday this week that fans should boycott the World Cup.
All-Star Sean Doolittle, has long been a critic of Trump, dating back to the first administration. He joined the Washington Nationals just six months after Trump entered his first term. He's now a coach for the team. After watching the two shooting deaths in Minneapolis, he said he was "horrified and heartbroken."
“It doesn’t make it any less infuriating that on some level, this has felt inevitable since the federal surge began in LA and DC last summer," he said. "DHS has an incredibly violent history. What we’re seeing play out in our cities feels like the natural progression of militarizing our police forces, providing endless taxpayer dollars at the expense of schools and social safety net programs."
“Passing national guard tanks on my way into work, seeing agents stationed all around the neighborhood near the stadium," he continued. "I don’t have a special perspective on this because I’m involved in sports. I have a perspective because I saw it happening in my city to my neighbors."
“And for anyone currently employed in any of our major American sports leagues, most of them have seen it too. Soon, we will be hosting athletes from all over the world in the World Baseball Classic, the Olympics, and the World Cup. Those athletes will see it too, and some of them may be at risk," Doolittle added.
Baldwin agreed that the U.S. hosting events only highlights its image to the world.
“In my humble opinion, we are in another pivotal moment in our human history,” he said. “The path we take here, now, will be determined by how we each show up in the world to influence that path.”
WNBA basketball player McKenzie Forbes, with the Los Angeles Sparks, cautioned everyone to “Be wary of state and local level government officials, police departments … trying to separate themselves from ICE. They are all a part of the same apparatus that does the dirty work for the ruling class.”
“I am sickened and outraged by the most recent public executions carried out by the state in Minnesota,” Forbes told The Guardian. “I think it is representative of the current state of our country that these government officials act with such audacity and impunity in broad daylight. Fascism is here now and if we as the people do not get organized with our neighbors it will only continue to get worse.”