Thierry Henry takes a knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds – the length of time Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of George Floyd and killed him, sparking global unrest – at the start of his Montreal Impact side’s first MLS game since lockdown
- Montreal Impact started participated in the MLS is Back tournament on Thursday
- Thierry Henry made a powerful statement during the opening minutes of it all
- The Montreal manager took a knee for the first eight minutes and 46 seconds
- A day before, MLS stars did likewise to show their support for Black Lives Matter
- That is how long cop Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of Minneapolis man George Floyd, who died as a result earlier this year
Thierry Henry made a powerful statement in the fight for racial equality as he took a knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds.
The Montreal Impact manager showed his support for the Black Lives Matter movement on Thursday with this act in memory of George Floyd, a black American man, who was brutally killed by American police in Minnesota in May.
Floyd’s death sadly occurred when white police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on his neck for a reported eight minutes and 46 seconds, with that number becoming a grim symbol of police brutality.
Thierry Henry took a knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds on Thursday in a powerful move
The Montreal Impact boss did so during the opening of their MLS is Back tournament game
Henry did so to show his support for the Black Lives Matter movement against racial injustice
And Henry highlighted this matter emphatically during the start of Montreal’s opening match of the MLS is Back Tournament against the New England Revolution – a game they lost 1-0.
Wearing a T-shirt with ‘Black Lives Matter’ emblazoned on the front, the Frenchman knelt inside his technical area at kick-off and only returned to his feet after the opening eight minutes and 46 seconds of the match.
‘I sat down for 8 mins and 46 seconds, I guess you guys know why,’ Henry said after the match.
‘It was just to pay tribute and show support to the cause. That was basically it. [It’s] pretty simple.’
Henry’s show of solidarity is the latest across the MLS as America’s top flight stand up against racial injustice.
Henry also wore a T-Shirt with ‘Black Lives Matter’ emblazoned on the front on Thursday
‘It was just to pay tribute and show support to the cause,’ he said of his powerful touchline acts