A professional soccer player in Los Angeles quit his job after his team learned that his wife went to social media to mock protester George Floyd.
Aleksandar Katai, 29-year-old midfielder from Serbia, and LA Galaxy split on Friday; the Major League Soccer team bought the remainder of the Katai contract, which began in December. Galaxy officials do not specify the amount or length of the contract, Los Angeles Times reports.
“We strongly believe that we are a club that represents our staff, represents our players, represents our fans and our community,” said team president Chris Klein. “The decision, in that case, is not difficult. We must hold on to these values. This is not a soccer decision. “
Katai did not comment, but Klein described it as regret and “deeply understanding through this process.”
Katai’s wife, Tea Katai, also from Serbia, posted racist messages on Tuesday but had taken them down, according to the Times.
One shows a screenshot of a video of two NYPD officers driving their vehicle through a crowd of demonstrators with captions, in Serbian, which translates as “kill the s – s!”
The other showed booty in a Nike shoe box with the English writing “Black Nikes Matter.”
Tea Katai also wrote another post in Serbian describing the protesters as “disgusting cows,” Associated Press reports.
Fans reacted quickly to the post, demanding that Galaxy release Katai, the Times reported. On Thursday, outside the team’s stadium, four men held bed linen-sized banners that read “There are no racists in our club” with a red line through the uniform No. Katai. 7
