French tennis star chides others for silence on racism

One of France's biggest names in tennis has spoken out about the lack of his white colleagues making their voices heard on the issue of racism.

Interviewed on Sunday on France 2 television, Yannick Noah commented on the death of George Floyd in the US, an unarmed black man who died after being detained by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, one of whom knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes leading to Floyd's asphyxiation and subsequent death.

The tennis star said he was troubled by the lack of other prominent white tennis athletes coming forth to speak out as well.

"Their silence bothers me but it goes further than that. It's an injustice which should make everyone aware. I am certain that in general police do a very good job but there are bad apples," Noah expressed over police brutality, the issue that sparked protests in numerous American cities and around the world.

Noah, 60, is the child of a Cameroonian father and a French mother. He is a former Grand Slam winner, having clinched the country's biggest match at Roland Garos, the French Open, in 1983.

"It's good that the young people take care of it, but what bothers me is that they are all half-breeds or blacks," he said.

Although the younger generation realizes that this is their future, a world with racism is a world they do not want to live in, added Noah.