LA Galaxy Meeting With Player Over Wife’s ‘Racist And Violent’ Social Media Posts

The LA Galaxy is meeting with midfielder Aleksandar Katai on Thursday after his wife, Tea Katai, shared a series of “racist and violent” posts on Instagram.

According to the AP, the posts in question — which have since been deleted and were written in Serbian — included a call to “kill” protestors and compared them to “disgusting cattle.”

“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 team said in a statement on Wednesday night. “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 statement continued, before adding they’d be meeting with Katai today to “determine next steps.”

“Now is the time to reflect on our role in helping fight racism in our community,” the statement concluded.

The athlete also condemned the posts on his own Instagram account, while also taking “responsibility.” Tea’s account is set to private.

“These views are not ones that I share and are not tolerated in my family. I strongly condemn white supremacy, racism and violence towards people of color,” he wrote. “Black lives matter. This is a mistake from my family and I take full responsibility. I will ensure that my family and I take the necessary actions to learn, understand, listen and support the black community.”

“I understand that it will take time to earn back the support of the people of Los Angeles,” his post continued. “I am committed to putting in the necessary work to learn from these mistakes and be a better ally and advocate for equality going forward. I am sorry for the pain these posts have caused the LA Galaxy family and all allies in the fight against racism.”

As of 3pm PT on Thursday, the Galaxy had not released any details about the meeting, but promised a statement would be issued.

Katai has only been with the team since December 2019, after previously playing for Chicago Fire and the Serbian national team.

Protests have been raging across the country since last week over the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, who died after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Last Friday, Derek Chauvin was arrested after video captured him with his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes during Floyd’s arrest for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd was unresponsive when paramedics arrived and was later pronounced dead.

Chauvin faces 2nd-degree murder and 2nd-degree manslaughter charges.

The three other officers in the arrest — Thomas Lane, J.A. Keung and Tou Thao — were charged with aiding and abetting the homicide.

On Tuesday, the state of Minnesota filed a human rights complaint against the Minneapolis Police Department.