In his first Eindhoven game, a Champions League qualifier against Red Star Belgrade in Serbia and Montenegro last August, Beasley, who is African-American, was rudely welcomed to European soccer.Probably says as much about the progress the US has made in combating racism as it does about how far Europe has to go still. Indiana, Beasley's home state, would not have been known as a bastion of tolerance in the past.
"Whenever I got the ball they would whistle, boo and make monkey noises. That was my first real racism experience," Beasley says. "I tried to block it out of my head and play. You have 65,000 people screaming at you and it's only you. It's crazy."
On the road in the Netherlands, Beasley faces similar treatment at times.
I love the fact that Beasley is only 5'7" and 125 lbs.
