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Jason Sudeikis, star of hit football sitcom Ted Lasso, showed his solidarity with three England players who were racially abused for missing penalties in the Euro 2020 final by wearing a sweatshirt bearing their names.
At an event in West Hollywood celebrating the show’s second season, which takes place in the world of English football and which Sudeikis co-wrote, his jersey read: “Jadon & Marcus & Bukayo”.
Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford missed penalties as England lost to Italy in a Wembley final that ended 1-1 after extra time. No English team has won a major international tournament since 1966.
Amid national desperation, racist online abuse of gamers has sparked enormous anger and controversy, even raised during the Prime Minister’s Questions.
Sudeikis told The Associated Press he decided to wear the sweatshirt on Thursday night “just to support the three guys from the England squad in the Euro final. They caught a lot of pointless puffs of unnecessary people.
“I’m just giving them a shout, letting them know that even here in the United States, we have our own issues with what they’re going through and letting them know they’re not alone.”
In the UK, right-wing media and online trolls have expressed outrage at the England squad’s decision to kneel before their matches kick off at Euro 2020, for protest systemic racism around the world.
The gesture originated in American professional sports, when San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the pre-game anthem to protest racism and police brutality towards minorities.
The kneeling players drew the ire of then-President Donald Trump and others to the United States’ right.
Saka plays for Arsenal while Sancho recently left Borussia Dortmund to join Rashford at Manchester United. In the aftermath of last Sunday’s loss to Italy, a mural of Rashford in the town has been defaced. Police said the vandalism was “not considered racial in nature” but also “kept an open mind”.
On Twitter, Rashford said he “would never apologize for who I am and where I come from.”
Sudeikis’ gesture has been widely celebrated online. Roger Bennett, one of the “Men in Blazers” who are at the forefront of English football coverage in the United States, wrote: “A huge love for Jason Sudeikis’ sweatshirt … shows that, like his character, he truly understands that football … is about human kindness.”
Washington Post columnist Michele Norris praised the appeal of the Sudeikis show, writing: “Another reason to love Jason Sudeikis. At the Ted Lasso Season 2 premiere, he showed his support for Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford [and] Bukayo Saka because of course that’s what Ted would do.
Ted Lasso’s adventures as an American coach and therefore adorable fish out of water in English football received 20 Emmy nominations this week – the most ever for a comedy in its first season. The show’s second season, Apple TV +, will be released on July 23.
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