Kieran Gibbs took strength from the pushback against the racism aimed at Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka after England's penalties heartbreak.
Former England defender Gibbs, who was speaking at his Inter Miami presentation, believes the fallout from the Euro 2020 final highlighted the best and worst of society in his home country.
Saka said on Thursday that he "knew instantly the kind of hate that I was about to receive", and called on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to tighten up controls over content on their platforms.
Sancho and Rashford have also spoken out powerfully this week. A mural of Rashford's image in Manchester was defaced before it became a positive focal point in the local community, with messages of praise, sympathy and solidarity posted on the wall.
"I'm pleased with the reaction from the country," said Gibbs. "Maybe not the initial reaction. Obviously, most things these days are spoiled by a few individuals.
"But the way everyone has responded is testament to the country and where we're at in society.
"i was really pleased to see that, especially being on this side of the water when the game was on.
"I still felt that attachment from home and it was great to see."
Gibbs is relishing his chance to make an impact in Major League Soccer, joining a team who have made a slow start to their second campaign, collecting only eight points from 11 games under Phil Neville's leadership.
They have scored just nine goals and conceded 17 already. Neville's side are slightly underperforming against their expected goals (11.3 xG) and expected goals against (16.3 xGA) figures.
Gibbs, 31, who made over 200 appearances for Arsenal before joining West Brom in 2017, will be expected to add strength to the defensive unit.
Inter Miami will also be hoping Gibbs can turn back the clock and bring some of his creative spark to MLS.
In 2017-18, the last campaign where he made more than 20 top-flight appearances, Gibbs created 22 goalscoring chances from his left-back station for West Brom. That was the fourth highest number on the team.
Gibbs said of his move to Miami: "It's just a challenge for me to grow as a person off the pitch.
"I've been in the UK all my life and had everything done for me in a way because that's the route that you go down.
"I want to try and explore a different side of life, a challenge of setting up a new life somewhere else and seeing how it goes. I felt that this was the best place to do that.
"I come here humble, I don't want any expectation, I just come willing to give 100 per cent and the rest will be history."
Gibbs could make his debut for Inter Miami on Saturday as Neville takes his struggling team on the road to face the New York Red Bulls.
Harry Winks fires leaders Leicester to dramatic late victory at West Brom
Harry Winks scored a last-gasp winner as Sky Bet Championship leaders Leicester beat West Brom 2-1 in a dramatic finish to give manager Enzo Maresca a winning first return to The Hawthorns.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s 72nd-minute header – his sixth goal of the season – gave Leicester the lead and the midfielder then set up Winks in the fourth minute of stoppage time after substitute Josh Maja looked like he had rescued a point.
Maresca, who started his professional career at West Brom and played 47 games there between 1998-2000, will have been relieved as there was little between the teams, who both hit the goal frame in the first half.
West Brom had a penalty claim turned down when Grady Diangana went down after it appeared he was pushed over in the box; VAR might have intervened if it was available.
Albion then failed to react quickly enough when goalkeeper Mads Hermansen played a poor pass out and it was intercepted, Brandon Thomas-Asante eventually having a shot blocked.
The home side went even closer in the 25th minute when Cedric Kipre stabbed against a post with the goalkeeper beaten after Matt Phillips’s corner had flicked off a couple of heads.
But Leicester returned fire to hit the goal frame themselves when Kelechi Iheanacho’s low angled drive was deflected onto the near post by Darnell Furlong’s lunge.
It looked like things might open up after the break when Diangana’s curling shot was deflected over the bar off Wout Faes.
But instead it became very scrappy, with both teams guilty of giving the ball away in midfield and defences remained on top.
That almost changed when Wilfred Ndidi got on the end of a cross from substitute Abdul Fatawu, but his flicked header under pressure lacked the power to beat Alex Palmer, who fumbled before the ball was cleared.
The Ndidi-Fatawu link-up combined again to devastating effect in the 72nd minute.
Fatawu spotted Ndidi’s run beyond the Albion midfield in the inside right position and the latter crossed for Dewsbury-Hall to nod the ball home ahead of Furlong from six yards out.
Albion equalised in very scrappy fashion. Furlong’s throw-in was headed away by Faes and, when the ball came back in, Kipre helped it on – a grounded Leicester defender could only tee up Maja to prod home his first goal since February 2022.
But Leicester hit Albion on the counter when they broke on a long throw-in and Iheanacho passed from inside his own half to Dewsbury-Hall, who ran 40 yards with the ball before drawing Palmer and slipping in Winks for an open goal.
Magic savour 'special' Washington triumph after record-equalling ninth straight win
Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero and coach Jamahl Mosley both lauded a "special" night for the team as they equalled the franchise's record winning run by overcoming the Washington Wizards.
Banchero finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, while Franz Wagner had a game-high 31 points as Orlando beat Washington for the second time in two days on Friday, clinching a 130-125 success at Amway Center.
The victory was Orlando's ninth in a row, taking them to 14-5 for the season and matching their longest ever streak, with the team having previously won nine straight in 1994, 2001 and 2010-11.
Orlando are one of just two NBA franchises – along with the Indiana Pacers – to never enjoy a double-digit winning run, but they have the chance to do so for the first time when they visit the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.
"It's pretty special," Banchero said of the team's run, which began with the first of back-to-back road wins over the Chicago Bulls on November 15.
"Eventually I think a loss is going to come, but we just want to keep it rolling for as long as we can.
"But you're not surprised when you do something like this because we've got great chemistry and we play really well together."
Orlando are up to second in the Eastern Conference, with only the 15-4 Boston Celtics and the 14-4 Minnesota Timberwolves boasting better records across the entire league.
Head coach Mosley said: "It's a big time for this group, but more importantly, I think it's a big time for the fans and the organisation.
"There's an energy, there's a vibe, a buzz about this group, and our guys are doing a good job of embracing it, not getting too high or too low but being able to register that this is something special."
West Ham boss David Moyes is expecting another tough test against Crystal Palace.
The Eagles are unbeaten in their last four visits to the London Stadium, winning two and drawing two.
But West Ham have won four of their last five matches in all competitions ahead of Sunday’s London derby.
“Crystal Palace have always been a tough team to play against throughout the years,” said Moyes.
“Roy Hodgson, as a manager, is always really well organised and highly prepared for whoever they’re playing against. It will be a really tough game for us, as are all the games in the Premier League.”
Former England boss Hodgson is the oldest manager in the Premier League having turned 76 in August.
Moyes, a relative spring chicken at 60, added: “I hope Roy stays working in the Premier League because that then means I’m not the oldest.
“Roy is doing a fine job and let’s hope he continues. He has been an incredible ambassador for football. The way he’s gone about the job, he’s a gentleman in what he does.
“To continue working in football now shows just how much love for the game he has.”
Moyes hopes to have Jarrod Bowen available after the forward missed the last two matches with a knee injury picked up on England duty.
Mohammed Kudus and Vladimir Coufal sat out the midweek Europa League win over Backa Topola in Serbia through illness and will also be assessed.
Striker Michail Antonio is still sidelined with a knee problem.
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