The footballer has previously criticised proposed Labour policies of higher taxation for the wealthy, and has joked about voting for the Brexit party
Nottingham Forest striker Lyle Taylor has criticised Black Lives Matter and the act of taking the knee in support of the anti-racist movement.
Taylor, who has been a vocal critic of left-wing policies on social media since 2019, spoke to BBC Radio Nottingham after scoring Forest’s winner in their FA Cup third round tie against Cardiff on Saturday.
“My support for what it is that we’re trying to achieve is absolute, but I do not support Black Lives Matter as an institution or organisation,” he said.
He also urged people to look into what BLM as an organisation stands for, without offering any explanation as to what he believes BLM as an organisation stands for.
“I would request anyone looks into Black Lives Matter to look into what that organisation does and what they stand for because it’s scandalous that the world and the world’s media has got behind Black Lives Matter,” he said.
“Not the message, of course black lives matter. Standing behind Black Lives Matter and the all the institutions that have done that – the BBC, Sky, all of them saying Black Lives Matter, it’s not a good idea because of what the organisation stands for.”
Black Lives Matter was formed in 2013 following the killing of black teenager Trayvon Martin by his neighbour George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was acquitted of his murder at trial.
Taylor went on to reiterate his lack of support for BLM, but insisted that he supports the fight against racism. He also touched upon the far-right insurrection by Donald Trump supporters in Washington DC on Wednesday, but stated that he wasn’t “going into [his] beliefs into what went on”.
“The message overall is 100 percent important, don’t get me wrong on that. You see what is happening – I’m not going into my beliefs into what went on in the Capitol building this week because I’ve done my fair amount of research into it,” he said.
“In terms of black lives actually mattering and black people being killed by police more frequently, that’s not a good thing.
“Black lives do matter, but you’ll never hear me say Black Lives Matter again in reference to that company.”
In 25 matches this season for Nottingham Forest, Taylor has five goals.
