Sounders partner with Black Lives Matter artist for captain’s armband

There’s a lot of empty gestures in the sports world today surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. Teams all over have been releasing hollow statements, without much action behind what they say. The Seattle Sounders, however, are trying not to be one of those teams.

The Sounders have partnered with Teddy “Stat” Phillip, a local Seattle artist who originally grew up in Montgomery, Ala., to design their #MLSisBack Tournament captain’s armband.

Before the match the Sounders released a video introducing Sounders fans to Stat. He was one of 16 artists who painted the BLACK LIVES MATTER mural on East Pine. Street in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. Teddy is currently an engineer at Microsoft, but moonlights his passion as an artist by showcasing his work on Instagram (@StatTheArtist), where he is known for his powerful portraiture and use of color.

Each Sounders player will also wear a customized message on their jersey tonight. Some will wear a name of a Black person killed at the hands of the police, others will wear a message of solidarity.