Gloria Jiménez and Bruce Martin, leaders of a Galaxy supporter group known as the Angel Metropolis Brigade, are sure that is no time to be quiet.
Since its founding in 2007, the Angel Metropolis Brigade, one of many Galaxy’s largest fan teams, has made its voice heard in sections 121 and 122 of Dignity Well being Sports activities Park in Carson.
On Friday, through the sometimes festive Fourth of July fireworks recreation, Galaxy supporter teams expressed their frustration and anger over seeing Southern California’s Latino neighborhood focused by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in latest weeks.
The followers say they’re upset by the Galaxy administration’s silence amid ICE’s presence within the Latino neighborhood. Nearly all of Galaxy followers are Latino, however the workforce has not issued any statements in assist of followers, remaining as quiet because the Dodgers till the MLB workforce felt stress and made a $1-million donation to profit households impacted by the raids.
The Galaxy and representatives of the groups’ supporter teams have held closed-door talks, but it surely didn’t result in a public statements by the membership. Earlier than the match in opposition to the Whitecaps on Thursday outdoors the stadium, Angel Metropolis Brigade displayed indicators that learn “Cease the Raids,” “Free Soil” and “No One is Unlawful.”
On the finish of the nationwide anthem, “Victoria Block,” the part the place a lot of the Galaxy’s fan teams stand, unfurled a tifo with three pictures: a farm employee; Roy Benavidez, a U.S. Military Medal of Honor recipient; and Elena Rios, president of the Nationwide Hispanic Well being Basis. On the backside, the banner learn: “Battle Ignorance, Not Immigrants.”
In the course of the twelfth minute of the match, the Angel Metropolis Brigade left the stands in protest. Supporter teams the Galaxians and Galaxy Outlawz protested silently, carrying no drums or trumpets. In addition they didn’t sing or chant through the recreation.
“What’s happening in Los Angeles has nothing to do with the gamers. They know that. What’s happening in Los Angeles we don’t like,” Manuel Martínez, chief of the Galaxy Outlawz, stated earlier than the match. “I belong to a household of immigrants who turned residents. So we all know the wrestle that individuals undergo. We all know that there are hard-working, harmless staff on the market.”
The Riot Squad, on the opposite aspect of the stadium, additionally remained silent and displayed a message that learn: “We like our Whiskey Neat, and our Land and Folks Free.”
This isn’t the primary time Galaxy fan teams have taken motion after they had been sad with workforce administration.
Angel Metropolis Brigade, together with different teams reminiscent of LA Riot Squad, Galaxy Outlawz and the Galaxians, led boycotts whereas demanding the elimination of then-team president Chris Klein following mismanagement and selections they felt didn’t make the workforce aggressive sufficient to win. Their effort paid off: Klein stepped down and new administration finally led the membership to its sixth MLS championship secured on the finish of final season.
On Friday, along with issuing an announcement reaffirming their “non-discriminatory ideas, which oppose exclusion and prejudice primarily based on race, origin, gender identification, sexuality or gender expression,” the followers determined to arrange a fundraiser to assist pro-immigrant organizations affected by the Trump administration’s finances cuts: Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), Border Kindness and Immigrant Defenders Legislation Middle.
To boost funds, they offered T-shirts with a picture of a protester in Chinatown confronting an ICE agent.
“That is our approach of displaying that we need to assist, and to battle what’s happening,” stated Martin, a Los Angeles native.
The T-shirt gross sales raised $4,000 for the three organizations.
Beforehand, Angel Metropolis Brigade, like different Galaxy supporter teams, determined to not journey to the June 28 street match in opposition to the Earthquakes in San José as a precaution in opposition to the raids. About 600 Galaxy followers sometimes attend the street match.
“We’ve members who haven’t been in a position to work. We’ve members who haven’t been in a position to exit to video games or attend occasions. San José would have been one among them,” Jiménez stated. “We determined that as a bunch, we couldn’t journey with out leaving our brothers and sisters right here. So in solidarity with the individuals who can’t attend due to concern of what’s happening, we determined to cancel the occasion.”
Whereas the opposite two skilled soccer groups in Los Angeles — LAFC and Angel Metropolis FC — have issued public statements in assist of the Latino immigrant neighborhood, the Galaxy’s possession has not addressed the problem. Angel Metropolis took its assist additional, , giving some shirts away to followers and promoting extra on its web site as a fundraiser to assist a company that gives authorized assist for immigrants.
Up to now, the one member of the Galaxy who has addressed the problem publicly is head coach Greg Vanney.
“I feel everyone knows somebody who might be affected by what’s happening, so it’s arduous from a human standpoint to not have compassion for the households and those that are affected by what’s happening,” Vanney stated earlier than a recreation in opposition to St. Louis Metropolis SC in June.
“We’ve to essentially assist one another, versus anticipating others to do it,” Jiménez stated. “That the assist didn’t come from our workforce, as we anticipated, broke our hearts right into a thousand items.”
Prior to now, the Galaxy and supporter teams have collaborated whereas celebrating varied Latin American international locations, incorporating their cultural symbols into workforce merchandise. However amid the Galaxy’s silence, followers are beginning to doubt the sincerity of the cultural celebrations.
“It’s unhappy and disappointing to me. This workforce that has been in Los Angeles for the reason that mid-Nineteen Nineties, they usually’ve leveraged the tradition for publicity. After they signed [Mexican soccer star] Chicharito for instance, they had been sturdy on Mexican tradition and issues like that. So when this all began, you’d suppose that they might be for his or her tradition, that they might be there for the followers,” Jiménez stated. “And by not saying something, it doesn’t say that they actually care about it. Households are being torn aside they usually simply keep silent.”
Jiménez stated there isn’t a day that goes by that she doesn’t cry or really feel anger in regards to the ICE raids.
“We already know what we’re to them, we’re not associates or household,” she stated of the Galaxy. “We’re followers and franchise.”
Martin stated he has obtained messages on social media, together with from Galaxy followers and supporters of different groups, criticizing his stance. Nonetheless, Angel Metropolis Brigade stated its members made a unanimous resolution to protest.
“We’ve at all times had moments the place we have now a really clear imaginative and prescient about how we really feel,” Jiménez stated. “And I feel this is likely one of the instances when everybody has made the identical resolution.”
Galaxy followers plan to stage extra protests through the workforce’s subsequent house match.
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