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Quinton de Kock Revealed Why He Didn’t Take The Knee

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The South African cricketer Quinton de Kock has now issued an apology to his fans and teammates for refusing to take the knee. During South Africa’s second T20 World Cup match against West Indies, Quinton de Kock had made himself unavailable for the game rather than follow an instruction from Cricket South Africa to “take the knee” in a gesture against racism.

Quinton de Kock Revealed Why He Didn’t Take The Knee
Quinton de Kock of South Africa during the fifth Momentum One Day International between South Africa and England at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town on 14 February 2016 ©Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

On Tuesday,  Cricket South Africa’s via their official Twitter handle released a statement from Quinton de Kock, in which he revealed that he was sorry the “hurt, confusion, and anger” he caused. The star batsman further stated that his intentions were not to hurt anyone and that he understands the importance of standing against racism. He also revealed the personal reasons because of which he decided to pull out of the game. He wrote:

“I would like to start by saying sorry to my teammates, and the fans back home. I never ever wanted to make this a Quinton issue. I understand the importance of standing against racism, and I also understand the responsibility of us as players to set an example.”

He added:

“I did not, in any way, mean to disrespect anyone by not playing against West Indies, especially the West Indian team themselves. Maybe some people don’t understand that we were just hit with this on Tuesday morning, on the way to a game. I am deeply sorry for all the hurt, confusion, and anger that I have caused,”

Further, the South African cricketer also asserted that the Black Lives Matter movement is very close to his heart. He also said that the way things turned out on that particular day was not to his liking which made him take the bold decision. Concluding his statement, Quinton de Kock agreed to take the knee in all the upcoming matches. He wrote:

“For those who don’t know, I come from a mixed-race family. My half-sisters are coloured and my stepmom is Black. For me, Black lives have mattered since I was born. Not just because there was an international movement. I was raised to understand that we all have rights, and they are important. I felt like my rights were taken away when I was told what we had to do in the way that we were told,”

Here, check out the Tweet:

Meanwhile, the statement from Quinton de Kock went viral in no time and it was welcomed with mixed reactions from the fans to it.

Here, check out the reactions of Twitterati on this:

https://twitter.com/cricanadian/status/1453618719054344193?s=20

 

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