"Have we become a country of racists?" - Boris Becker buttoned up Germans with clear words

By participating in an anti-racism demo, Boris Becker probably wanted to make you think. But he had to listen to violent criticism. He now counters them provocatively.

• Boris Becker took part in an anti-racism demo in London.
• There was criticism in Germany for this.
• The former tennis star does not let that sit on him and refers to his family.

London / Munich - He was definitely wrapped up. A poison green scarf covered most of his face. In addition Boris Becker wore a baseball cap on the head, and even the hood of his hoodie. This is how the tennis legend took part in an anti-racism demo in his adopted city of London.

Becker documented his stand against the oppression of the black community with a short video that he spread on Twitter. He provided the post with the hashtag Black lives matter * . Actually an all-round laudable action.

#word ... #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/CKUCpf1S1r

Boris Becker on anti-racism demo: accusations by users about distance rules

But in Corona times * , far from all users saw the same thing in the comments. Especially since Great Britain is in a much deeper crisis than Germany, for example. So Becker had to endure all kinds of accusations . The fact that he had disregarded the distance rules was one of the more harmless ones.

The most violent criticism apparently came from Becker's old home. Which is why he turned to his compatriots with further tweets - completely atypical in German. "I am shaken, shocked, frightened by the many insults ONLY from Germany for my support of the Black Lives Matter demo in London yesterday," wrote the 52-year-old on Sunday and countered: "Why, why, why ??? Have we become a country of racists ...? "

I am shaken, shocked, frightened by the many insults ONLY from Germany for my support of the #BlackLivesMattters demo in London yesterday! Why, why, why ??? Have we become a country of racists ...?

Boris Becker on anti-racism demo: There are also numerous rallies in Germany

With this, Becker puts his finger in the wound. After all, following the violent death of the African American George Floyd * in distant Minneapolis , thousands also take to the streets in this country to stand up for equality. At a rally in Düsseldorf, football international Benjamin Henrichs was among the top players.

In a second tweet, Becker enjoyed at least the support of his demo appearance by media in the USA and England. "Luckily, my support for the Black Lives Matter demo on both CNN and the Daily Mail was seen as very positive ...", he referred to the relevant reporting and then spun the bow on his very personal role: " Apparently many people in Germany still haven't understood that it's my family history ! ”The names of his four children Noah, Elias, Anna and Amadeus follow .

Fortunately, my support of the #BlackLivesMatter demo on #CNN and #DailyMail was seen as very positive ... apparently many people in Germany still haven't understood that it's my family history! #Noah #Elias #Anna # Amadeus

Boris Becker on anti-racism demo: Ex-women have roots in America

Noah and Elias come from a marriage to Barbara Becker , who is herself the daughter of an African American and a German. Anna is the result of an affair with Angela Ermakowa , a British woman with Russian roots. He has Amadeus with the Dutchwoman Lilly Becker , whose mother comes from Suriname.

In the family of the cosmopolitan ex-professional, the issue of racism should not have been on the table for the past few weeks. Which is why it should be natural for Becker to get involved. Corona or not.

Becker's son Noah was racially insulted by an AfD politician in a tweet - it came to trial. Lilly competed on the TV show "Beat the Star" against Sylvie Meis and was completely brought up to concept by a glitch.

Meanwhile, Hamburg rapper Samy Deluxe released a song against racism. The song title "I Can't Breathe" alludes to the words of the killed George Floyd. 

Demonstrations against racism also took place in Halle on the weekend. At the same time, right-wing extremists embarrassed themselves to the bone in a counter-demonstration. 

* merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.

mg

List of rubric lists: © dpa / Uwe Anspach