The Los Angeles Galaxy has released Aleksandar Katai over controversial comments posted by his wife, Tea Katai, on social media.
On Friday, the professional soccer team announced it’s decision to “mutually part ways” with the 29-year-old Serbian midfielder just days after his wife urged police to “kill” George Floyd protestors and called them “disgusting cattle” in Serbian, among other obscene claims in a series of since-deleted posts.
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The team’s official statement on the matter reads:
“The LA Galaxy strongly condemned the social posts and requested their immediate removal/ The LA Galaxy stands firmly against racism of any kind, including that which suggests violence or seeks to demean the efforts of those in pursuit of racial equality. The LA Galaxy stand with communities of color, and especially the Black community, in the protests and fight against systemic racism, social inequality, bigotry and violence. The LA Galaxy will hold a meeting with Katai on Thursday, June 4 and will determine next steps.”
In addition to letting the player go, and in response to the police killing of Floyd and the global conversation about police brutality and equality, the LA Galaxy announced a pledge to “reflect on our role in helping to fight racism in our community.” As seen (below):
A statement from the LA Galaxy on Tea Katai. pic.twitter.com/tfGDMUomIo
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) June 4, 2020
Aleksandar’s enjoyed a short tenure with the major league soccer team since he was signed in 2019 but thanks to his wife’s actions, his career in LA appears to be over for the foreseeable future. However, instead of burying his head in the sand, Katai quickly offered up an apology on his Instagram account where he took full responsibility and condemned the offensive comments that were made:
“These views are not ones that I share and are not tolerated in my family. I strongly condemn white supremacy, racism and violence towards people of color. Black lives matter. This is a mistake from my family and I take full responsibility. I will ensure that my family and I take the necessary actions to learn, understand, listen and support the black community.”
The embattled athlete continued:
“I understand that it will take time to earn back the support of the people of Los Angeles. I am committed to putting in the necessary work to learn from these mistakes and be a better ally and advocate for equality going forward. I am sorry for the pain these posts have caused the LA Galaxy family and all allies in the fight against racism.”
While that sounds sincere enough, let’s hope he’ll actually talk the talk AND walk the walk after this controversy. We’re talking about more than just an apologetic social media post, here! Have those tough conversations so desperately needed at home, and then some! Rhetoric inciting that kind of violence is never okay.
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[Image via Aleksandar Katai/Instagram]
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