Atlanta United defender Miles Robinson and midfielder Mo Adams joined the latest episode of “Southern Fried Soccer,” a podcast led by Atlanta Journal-Constitution beat reporter Doug Roberson.
They connected in light of the recently-formed Black Players Coalition of MLS, which aims to tackle racial inequalities and positively impact Black communities across the United States and Canada. Adams and Robinson both stressed the importance of the group being led by players, showing how willing they are to speak out.
“The fact it was player driven emphasized that us as Black players in the league need a platform from which we’re able to voice our opinions and speak our mind,” Adams said. “Just coming together, there’s a sense of unity and strength between the players and the bond we’ve all created in the past few weeks or months, whatever it’s been, was essential in order to drive this forward.”
The conversation naturally shifted to personal experiences of racism in soccer, which Adams and Robinson both cited. The latter, part of the US men’s national team depth chart, stressed how normalized such interactions became during his upbringing.
“For me personally, I feel like when I was younger I took it in more or situations I remember more,” Robinson said. “But now playing in the MLS, I haven’t experienced much so far, I believe. But maybe it’s because I’m brushing it off because I’m used to it. I think in times like this, you can take a step back and really think back to what’s happened before in your career and give it more thought towards situations that will occur as well. But racism definitely happens.”
For more from Robinson and Adams, two Syracuse alums, check out the entire podcast here.
