The first Black soccer player for English club Liverpool said that he declined a nomination for a British state honor, the Member of the British Empire, or MBE, because he felt he would be betraying his Black ancestors who suffered oppression at the hands of British colonialism. Debuting for Liverpool in 1977, Howard Gayle, 58, said via Facebook
Black Soccer Player Protests Colonialism, Declines UK Honor
“My ancestors would be turning in their graves after how empire and colonialism had enslaved them,” said Howard Gayle.