AVONDALE, La. – Cameron Champ was the first player to speak out last year as the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum and on Wednesday he joined the rest of the sports world in collective relief following the conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder George Floyd.

“It was a nervousness to see what was going to happen. To see if anything was going to happen,” said Champ, one of four PGA Tour members with Black heritage. “[Chauvin] probably didn’t intentionally mean to kill him but he did, however you want to perceive it. To the Black community and minorities in general something has to be done. This can’t just get swept under the rug.”

At last year’s BMW Championship in Chicago Champ wore one black shoe and one white shoe with “Jacob Blake,” who was shot seven times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and “BLM” written on them and he embraced Tuesday’s verdict as a much-needed step forward.

“All of sports in general has been behind it. Everything is starting to come to light more and things are slowly starting to change, which is great to see,” he said. “It’s a huge step in holding everyone accountable no matter your race, your profession or how much money you have.”