It was a dark night on Sunday at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium. Not just for the soccer world, but for the entire sporting hemisphere. The prevalent fight against racism in sports took a hit as Valencia welcomed Real Madrid for their La Liga encounter. Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr. was in the middle of it all as the home crowd attacked him with hostile chants. Despite the situation working against him, he found support in the sporting fraternity. Besides the biggest names in soccer, retired NFL legend Tom Brady also stood in solidarity.
The night ended for the Champions League winner with a red card while his team lost 1-0 to Valencia. However, that is not what left the biggest scar on the 22-year-old’s sporting armor. Vinicius shared a video with a compilation of all the racist and violent chants he has received throughout the course of the season in Spain. And it was truly heartbreaking to watch.
Tom Brady and Neymar react to Vini’s gut-wrenching compilation video
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The Los Blancos LW could not hold back his tears after the Valencia home crowd chanted “Die, Vinicius, Die,” among various other hateful things. The video also showed the clash between him and some fans who allegedly made monkey gestures at him during the game. Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois confirmed the allegations when he said he also heard the same chants.
“I’m sorry for the Spaniards who don’t agree, but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists. Unfortunately, for everything that happens every week, I have no way of defending it. I agree,” Vini Jr. captioned the video on Instagram. Fellow Brazilian superstar Neymar commented, “Until when?” with two angry emojis.
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Former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady responded to the video with two hearts. “Vini,” the 7x Lombardi winner commented, clearly at a loss for words for the scenario unfolding.
The matter escalated when Vini’s attack on LaLiga for its inaction met resistance from LaLiga President Javier Tebas. The latter shot back at Vinicius for not attending the previously scheduled meetings about this issue. Vini didn’t sit back.
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“Once again, instead of criticizing racists, the president of LaLiga appears on social media to attack me,” he said, before highlighting Tebas’ inconsistencies.
The NFL recently won a major battle in the war on racism
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There are issues prevalent in the NFL, just as much as in the LaLiga, or any other major sporting league in the world. However, this year was a huge milestone in the NFL’s fight against racism. The Super Bowl LVII final held in Phoenix, Arizona in February 2023 was special in more ways than one.
KC Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Philly’s Jalen Hurts became the first two black quarterbacks to start a Super Bowl game since its inception in 1967. The quarterback position is no longer a predominantly white athlete-dominated spot. And this feat is very likely to be repeated in the coming years, with stars like Lamar Jackson on the scene.
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Regardless, as Vinicius rides this unnecessary wave of hate out to victory, it’s safe to say that Tom Brady and the rest of the NFL world are rowing behind him in full swing.
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