On March 26, French football legend and recently retired coach of CF Montreal, Thierry Henry, quit all social media platforms in a bold statement against online racism. Talking directly to his combined 14.8 million followers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram before closing his accounts, he said: Hi Guys, From tomorrow morning I will be removing myself from social media until the people in power are able to regulate their platforms with the same vigour and ferocity that they currently do when you infringe copyright…. pic.twitter.com/gXSObqo4xg — Thierry Henry (@ThierryHenry) March 26, 2021 For Henry, it was time to pressure the online networks to do something against racist abuse, which had spiraled out of control during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and stadium closures, moving from physical and verbal assaults—bananas being pelted on the pitch and monkey chants when Black players were on the ball—to online abuse and bullying. As a result, there has been a surge of these attacks in the second half of 2020 and continuing to 2021. In his statement, the former Arsenal and Barcelona striker wrote: “The sheer volume of racism, bullying and resulting mental torture to individuals is too toxic to ignore. There HAS to be some accountability. It is far too easy to create an account, use it to bully and harass without any consequence and still remain anonymous. Until this changes, I will be disabling my accounts across all social platforms. I’m hoping this happens soon.” He added: “I’m not saying it’s not good to have social media, I’m just trying to say that it has to be a safe place. Basically, I did what I felt and I hope it can inspire people to do the same thing if they feel the same way.” Henry's announcement came two days after a similar decision by another public figure, American model and TV personality, Chrissy Teigen who shut down her Twitter account after facing online abuse. Twitter stands accused of allowing insulting language against users, usually from anonymous accounts, in posts that are often racist or misogynistic, and while the networking giant has published and quoted its “hateful conduct policy,” it has not generally been swift in dealing with these cases. COVID-19 halts sports world, racism rears its head again In 2020, the world of sport came to a halt due to the pandemic. Many major sporting events, including the Olympic Games and the Euro2020 football tournament, were altogether postponed. During this time, a pivotal incident was the killing of George Floyd as he was being arrested in the U.S., an event that prompted protests on racism and discrimination across the globe. As protests happened both on the streets and online, civil rights groups pushed for more action from the social media companies. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Anti-Defamation League and Color of Change sought an audience with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. This was due to pressure from major advertisers forcing the company to address racism and discrimination among other social injustices on the platforms. Facebook previously delayed commenting or went mute on any feedback about combating the social injustices. With the relaxing of lockdown measures in the U.K., the English Premier League (EPL) was among the first leagues to resume playing and as a symbol of protest and solidarity players decided to take a knee before the start of all games. In a game between Manchester City and Burnley F.C., a plane flew overhead displaying the banner, “White Lives Matter Burnley” in opposition to the players’ protest. With restrictions to football fans being at live matches, the next target became players’ social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Early this year, a number of players in the English Premier League (EPL) were targets of online racist attacks on Twitter and Instagram. Marcus Rashford was the target of an online attack following his team’s 0-0 draw against arch-rivals, Arsenal. In a tweet published on January 30, the 23-year-old Manchester United forward said: Humanity and social media at its worst. Yes I’m a black man and I live every day proud that I am. No one, or no one comment, is going to make me feel any different. So sorry if you were looking for a strong reaction, you’re just simply not going to get it here ?? — Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) January 30, 2021 The player had recently been awarded an MBE, for his efforts in successfully campaigning to get the UK government to allow approximately 1.3 million school-going children to claim free school meal vouchers during summer holidays as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In support of players, the EPL demanded social media companies put in place serious measures against racist attacks.