Instantly recognizable.
Darting past players and scoring goals, Cobi Jones was easy to spot on the pitch, but not just for the way he played.
“As a Black person, when we were young we were always looking to figures that were where we wanted to be one day and he was one of those,” co-founder of Black Players for Change and former MLS defender Justin Morrow told LAGalaxy.com. “Not only his skin color but his hair and how he used to and continues to wear his dreads is just iconic. It’s something that young Black kids of my generation noticed right away.”
Cobi Jones led the way on the pitch for the LA Galaxy in a newly formed league in 1996, going on to win two MLS Cups, two U.S. Open Cups, a Concacaf Champions Cup, and will cement his status as a legend in Dignity Health Sports Park’s Legends Plaza on April 26 when his statue is unveiled.
He led the way for his country in one Olympic Games and three World Cups, including on home soil in 1994, and is still the most-capped United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) player to date. He led the way for Americans abroad, playing for Coventry City in the Premier League and Vasco da Gama in Brazil. But most impactfully, he led the way for Black American soccer players.
“I remember when Cobi went down to Vasco. He was doing stuff that no one had ever done. Cobi isn’t just a legend. I consider him a blueprint,” Black Players for Change Executive Director Allen Hopkins Jr. told LAGalaxy.com. “For me, a Black American kid and now an OG in this space, from competing against him in college and a short time later seeing him out there in 1994 with the hair, the vibes, that relentless engine, it just changed the math on what I thought was possible.”
Black Players for Change (BPC), a player-led organization that formed in 2020, engages in “advocacy, fosters community outreach, and leads initiatives that promote equality, diversity, inclusion, and social justice.” BPC “leverages the influence and visibility of Black soccer players to drive meaningful change and contribute to a more equitable and fair environment in the world of sports.”
Hopkins Jr., who currently co-hosts the podcast New Ground, was an MLS broadcaster with Jones. But they also encountered one another on the field while in college, Hopkins Jr. at Westmont College and Jones at UCLA. In a game between the two schools, Westmont led at halftime before Jones turned things around for the Bruins.
“It was almost like someone said, ‘hey Cobi, can you make it happen?’” remembered Hopkins Jr. “He was just relentless every time he got the ball. He skipped past our whole team in the 89th minute to score. [Jones showed] the confidence and audacity you have to have to be a professional player but also the calmness that I was looking at and trying to emulate.”
Jones put his mark on the world stage during the 1994 FIFA World Cup. As one of just two Black players on the U.S. squad – Earnie Stewart being the other – Jones played a vital role in the team’s success in that pivotal tournament. The USA advanced past the group stage before being eliminated in the Round of 16 by Brazil, the eventual champions. Now heading into another World Cup at home, the USMNT is more diverse than ever. At the 2022 World Cup, the US 26-man squad had 12 Black players.
“I have so much respect for him and the generation that laid the foundation for what I was able to enjoy as a soccer player in this country, in MLS, and with the U.S. Men’s National Team,” Morrow said. “A lot of the infrastructure, the success we had getting paid, a lot of the fandom was built by Cobi and his generation of players.”
Jones’ trailblazing career set a new standard for Black American players at home and abroad. As he gets his statue, that legacy is cemented.
“He laid the foundation for the culture that we’re still building upon,” said Hopkins Jr. “To still be in a position to push the legacy forward and show these young guns and next generation guys what’s possible as he did for me is the responsibility that I carry with a lot of pride.”
For more on Cobi Jones, visit lagalaxy.com/cobijones.
