LA Galaxy publicly condemn racist statements made by Aleksandar Katai’s wife

The LA Galaxy condemned racist statements made on social media by winger Aleksandar Katai’s wife on Wednesday, pledging to meet with the player over the matter Thursday.

Tea Katai posted multiple statements on her instagram account, including one in which she encouraged police officers in an SUV to run over and “kill” protesters in New York City, and another where she mocked the Black Lives Matter movement.

Within hours, Galaxy fans had overwhelmingly condemned Tea Katai’s comments and demanded answers from the Galaxy, some calling for the player to receive sanction of some sort.

The full Galaxy statement on Wednesday:

Earlier today, the LA Galaxy were made aware of a series of racist and violent social media posts by Tea Katai, the wife of LA Galaxy midfielder Aleksandar Katai. The LA Galaxy strongly condemned the social posts and requested their immediate removal. The LA Galaxy stands firmly against racism of any kind, including that which suggests violence or seeks to demean the efforts of those in pursuit of racial equality.

The LA Galaxy stand with communities of color, and especially the Black community, in the protests and fight against systemic racism, social inequality, bigotry and violence. The LA Galaxy will hold a meeting with Katai on Thursday, June 4 and will determine next steps.

Now is the time to reflect on our role in helping fight racism in our community.

Aleksandar Katai, 29, is in his first season with the Galaxy, joining in the offseason after two years with the Chicago Fire. The Serbian international had previously played in his native country, Greece and Spain.

Later in the evening Wednesday, Aleksandar issued a statement condemning his wife’s statements and claiming to take “full responsibility” in the matter.

It’s unclear what the next step is in this matter, beyond the meeting. I can’t think of an example like this happening in American soccer, and while her statements were disgusting, Aleksandar didn’t say them and so it’s tough to say what consequences he should face as a result. At any rate, this is certainly not the time to brush comments like these under the rug, and it will be interesting to see what happens next in this story.