Whether it’s helping bring down Jose Mourinho at Manchester United, marching in support of Tottenham’s owners or protesting their team’s owner at Crystal Palace, fans are using their passions as tools for social change. Their protest stories are a reminder that fan activism is more than just a fad.
During the Civil Rights Movement, Black fans turned their love for sports into a powerful tool of nonviolent protest. They boycotted professional sports teams that segregated seating and pressed city leaders to integrate housing, schools and businesses. Black newspapers like the Atlanta Daily World kept fans informed about the latest boycotts, and newspaper columnists such as Jim Hall, Marcel Hopson and Marion Jackson encouraged fandom to be used as a force for change.
A decade later, Galaxy fans were still using their fandom as a tool for social change. The Angel City Brigade, Galaxians, LA Riot Squad and Galaxy Outlawz played a critical role in the team’s sixth MLS championship in 2017, which came after they demanded that owner AEG remove the club’s management over mismanagement and decisions they felt hampered the team’s performance on the field.
On July 12, fans from those same fan groups stood silent for the entirety of a home game against Vancouver to protest the team’s silence about immigration raids in Southern California’s Latino community. The group has vowed to continue their silent protests at future home games, in addition to taking actions off the field.