The Intersection of Jason Sudeikis and Ted Lasso in One Sweatshirt

Praise the soccer gods, Ted Lasso is about to return to our lives. (Season Two debuts July 23rd, to be exact.) On Thursday night, everyone behind the AppleTV+ series—Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, and wow, even Apple CEO Tim Cook—turned up in Los Angeles to usher in the return of no-holds-barred optimism.

But it was Sudeikis (a man who's been known to deliver a sincere message from time to time) who gave us the statement of the evening. At the premiere, the actor wore a black sweatshirt featuring the first names of English soccer players Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, and Bukayo Saka. The three men were targets of racial abuse after missing penalty kicks in England's loss to Italy in this year's Euros and Sudeikis's garb addressed the ugly and shameful situation head on, offering a show of solidarity with the three world-class athletes.

"The communities that always wrapped their arms around me continued to hold me up," Rashford wrote in a message posted to Twitter this week. "I'm Marcus Rashford, 23 year old, black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester. If I have nothing else I have that."

It's not the first time Sudeikis has worn an outfit with a message of social justice inscribed on the front. In April, he wore a sweater that said, "MY BODY, MY CHOICE" to the SAG Awards. Of course, that missive was blasted across the airwaves when he won the prize for best male actor in a comedy series. Hopefully, this pullover will bring a similarly heightened awareness to what Sancho, Rashford and Saka have faced this week.

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