Russell Martin has spoke of his pride in Zak Jules and David Kasumu for speaking up on the topic of racism.
English football united last weekend for a social media boycott in response to the ongoing and sustained discriminatory abuse received online by players and many others connected to football.
Prior to the boycott, Jules and Kasumu sat down with iFollow MK Dons to discuss today’s society and their experiences of racism – click HERE to watch the full open forum!
“They were incredible,” Martin said in his post-match press conference following Saturday’s Sky Bet League One clash at Fleetwood Town.
“I'm so proud of both of them, not just for coming out for speaking, but the way they spoke too – it was so honest. It made us, as a staff, emotional.”
Martin continued: “There has to be something that follows this (boycott). We've been kneeling all season but nothing has really changed, especially on social media.
“It's relentless and it's ridiculous. We're all human beings, and they're just footballers doing their best for the club, giving everything they have to us and the game. For anyone to be discriminated against for their race is outrageous, and it's outrageous that it's still going on.
“With social media, it’s clearly putting money, numbers and stats first. Numbers aren't important, people are. We're forgetting what's most important, especially in a world where for 18 months people haven't been able to see their families.
“I don't have the solution but people aren't trying hard enough to find the solution. It's about education and it's about these companies taking responsibility.
“We've not done this as a token gesture and we're going to follow up and work hard to look at ourselves constantly, and create a club culture where every person feels part of it and proud to be a part of it.
“Hopefully a few people have been challenged by this and they can question themselves. It’s about scraping the surface, challenging yourself and hopefully this blackout urges the social media companies to do something because it's unacceptable.”
