Members of the New Day have been doing what they can to raise awareness about racial injustice. Kofi Kingston and Big E have been wearing armbands each week on Smackdown with the names of people who have lost their lives at the hands of police including Breonna Taylor, Tamla Horsford, Botham Jean, Freddie Gray and many others.
Big E spoke to Yahoo Sports about New Day using their platform to make a statement. He said when they went to Vince McMahon with the idea of taking a knee on Smackdown, he was in total support.
“When Kofi and I got to the Performance Center that day, we felt like we had to do something,” Big E said. “We went and had a conversation with our boss, Vince McMahon, and he was completely on board. We felt like that even if it was just a five-second gesture, it was important to let people know that the things that affected them, we were feeling too. We’re not above this because we’re on TV or because we make money, we’re still people. I was born Black, I will die Black, I have lived my life as Black American much longer than I will ever be a WWE wrestler.”
Big E would continue to say although he doesn’t know how to solve a systematic problem, it is important to him to do something with the anger and frustration he feels about it.
“It really weighed on me. I felt that even though I didn’t know how to change the structure or end systemic racism, I wanted to do something with my anger and frustration, I wanted to do something positive and we were all on the same page with that.”
