Galaxy fans protest team's silence in response to ICE raids
Since its founding in 2007, the Angel City Brigade, one of the Galaxy's largest fan groups, has made its voice heard in sections 121 and 122 of Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.
On Friday, during the typically festive Fourth of July fireworks game, Galaxy supporter groups decided to express their frustration and anger over seeing Southern California's Latino community targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in recent weeks.
The fans say they are upset by the Galaxy management's silence amid ICE's presence in the Latino community. The majority of Galaxy fans are Latino, but the team has not issued any statements in support of fans, remaining as quiet as the Dodgers until the MLB team felt pressure and made a $1 million donation to benefit families impacted by the raids.
The Galaxy and representatives of the teams' supporter groups have held closed-door talks, but it didn't lead to a public statements by the club. Before the match against the Whitecaps on Thursday outside Dignity Health Sports Park, Angel City Brigade displayed signs that read 'Stop the Raids,' 'Free Soil' and 'No One is Illegal.
At the end of the national anthem, 'Victoria Block,' the section where most of the Galaxy's fan groups stand, unfurled a tifo with three images: a farm worker; Roy Benavidez, a U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipient; and Elena Rios, president of the National Hispanic Health Foundation. At the bottom, the banner read: 'Fight Ignorance, Not Immigrants.'
During the 12th minute of the match, the Angel City Brigade left the stands in protest. Supporter groups the Galaxians and Galaxy Outlawz protested silently, carrying no drums or trumpets. They also did not sing or chant during the game.
'What's going on in Los Angeles has nothing to do with the players. They know that. What's going on in Los Angeles we don't like,' Manuel Martínez, leader of the Galaxy Outlawz, said before the match. 'I belong to a family of immigrants who became citizens. So we know the struggle that people go through. We know that there are hard working, innocent workers out there.'
The Riot Squad, on the other side of the stadium, also remained silent during and displayed a message that read: 'We like our Whiskey Neat, and our Land and People Free.'
This is not the first time Galaxy fan groups have taken action when they were unhappy team management.
Angel City Brigade, along with other groups such as LA Riot Squad, Galaxy Outlawz and the Galaxians, led boycott while demanding the removal of then-team president Chris Klein following mismanagement and decisions they felt didn't make the team competitive enough to win. Their effort paid off: Klein stepped down and new management eventually led the club to its sixth MLS championship secured at the end of last season.
On Friday, in addition to issuing a statement reaffirming their 'non-discriminatory principles, which oppose exclusion and prejudice based on race, origin, gender identity, sexuality or gender expression,' the fans decided to organize a fundraiser to support pro-immigrant organizations affected by the Trump administration's budget cuts: Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), Border Kindness and Immigrant Defenders Law Center.
To raise funds, they sold T-shirts with an image of a protester in Chinatown confronting an ICE agent.
'This is our way of showing that we want to help, and to fight what's going on,' said Martin, a Los Angeles native.
The T-shirt sales raised $4,000 for the three organizations.
Previously, Angel City Brigade, like other Galaxy supporter groups, decided not to travel to the June 28 road match against the Earthquakes in San José as a precaution against the raids. About 600 Galaxy fans typically attend the road match.
'We have members who have not been able to work. We have members who have not been able to, go out to games or attend events. San José would have been one of them,' Jiménez said. 'We decided that as a group, we couldn't travel without leaving our brothers and sisters here. So in solidarity with the people who can't attend because of fear of what's going on, we decided to cancel the event.'
While the other two professional soccer teams in Los Angeles — LAFC and Angel City FC — have issued public statements in support of the Latino immigrant community, the Galaxy's ownership has not addressed the issue. Angel City took its support further, wearing 'Immigrant City Football Club' warm-up shirts, giving some shirts away to fans and selling more on its website as a fundraiser to support an organization that provides legal support for immigrants.
So far, the only member of the Galaxy who has addressed the issue publicly is head coach Greg Vanney.
'I think we all know someone who is probably affected by what's going on, so it's hard from a human standpoint not to have compassion for the families and those who are affected by what's going on,' Vanney said prior to a game against St. Louis City SC in June.
'We have to really help each other, versus expecting others to do it,' Jiménez said. 'That the support didn't come from our team, as we expected, broke our hearts into a thousand pieces.'
In the past, the Galaxy and supporter groups have collaborated while celebrating various Latin American countries, incorporating their cultural symbols into team merchandise. But amid the Galaxy's silence, fans are starting to doubt the sincerity of the cultural celebrations.
'It's sad and disappointing to me. This team that has been in Los Angeles since the mid-1990s, and they've leveraged the culture for publicity. When they signed [Mexican soccer star] Chicharito for example, they were strong on Mexican culture and things like that. So when this all started, you would think that they would be for their culture, that they would be there for the fans,' Jiménez said. 'And by not saying anything, it doesn't say that they really care about it. Families are being torn apart and they just stay silent.'
Jiménez said there isn't a day that goes by that she doesn't cry or feel anger about the ICE raids.
'We already know what we are to them, we are not friends or family,' she said of the Galaxy. 'We are fans and franchise.'
Martin said he has received messages on social media, including from Galaxy fans and supporters of other teams, criticizing his stance. However, Angel City Brigade said its members made a unanimous decision to protest.
'We have always had moments where we have a very clear vision about how we feel,' Jiménez said. 'And I think this is one of the times when everyone has made the same decision.'
Galaxy fans plan to stage more protests during the team's next home match.
This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.
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