Melbourne Stars wicketkeeper Ben Dunk stands again as teammates take a knee in BLM gesture

For a second day in a row, Ben Dunk stood instead of taking a knee in support of the BLM movement as his BBL side launched an impassioned defence of his integrity.

The Melbourne Stars have spoken out to protect Big Bash veteran Ben Dunk from being branded a racist following his decision not to join a Black Lives Matter protest.

Stars chief executive Nick Cummins said it was grossly unfair that Dunk had been singled out for not taking a knee in Friday night’s clash against Brisbane, because there were other players who also declined to take part in the protest not shown by TV cameras.

Cummins said Melbourne players were given the option to either take a knee or to stand and remove their cap out of respect for the others’ right to protest, which is what Dunk – the son of a north Queensland banana farmer – did along with at least two other teammates and some Heat players.

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Ben Dunk stands again as his teammates kneel.

Less than 24 hours later and Dunk - playing against Sydney Thunder - stood again.

As the TV cameras panned to the Stars’ dugout, Dunk was on his feet and was flanked by several kneeling teammates, including Adam Zampa and Clint Hinchcliffe.

Sydney Thunder veteran Usman Khawaja, who was wearing the player microphone, asked Fox Cricket to pause his interview so he could pay his respect.

“Just give me a second here, boys,” Khawaja said as he took the knee.

Khawaja was then asked about the significance of the act.

“It means a lot,” he said.

“One thing the Thunder’s been great at over the years is representing what western Sydney is all about.”

Melbourne Renegades said last month they would support the right of players and teams to recognise the Black Lives Matters movement “in the manner they choose to do so”.

“Our club will respect and support the stance of player and teams before each game,” the club said.

“There is no place for racial discrimination in any part of society.

“Our players will stand in silence and remove their caps when the Black Lives Matter protest is observed.”

The Sixers and Scorchers WBBL players stand in a barefoot circle.

Individual players will make their own decisions about whether or not to take a knee during the BBL season, and Stars boss Cummins says it’s how they carry themselves in everyday life and not those 15 seconds which defines their real attitudes to embracing humanity and culture.

“We encourage players to make a choice and the two choices that we present to players is if they would like to take a knee we support them in doing so, if people don’t want to take a knee then we ask them to remove their cap in respect of others right to protest,” Cummins told News Corp.

“Which you would have seen is what Ben did, as did other players as well.

“We make it clear that everyone at the Stars, players and the staff stand firmly against racism of any kind. And how our players choose to express that is not just what they do in the 15 seconds before the game but what they do throughout their lives as well.”

The taking a knee gesture has become common practice by athletes across the world after NFL star Colin Kaepernick originally took the stand, before the BLM movement grew momentum following the killing of George Floyd by police earlier this year in Minnesota.

The Sydney Sixers put out a statement before Thursday’s opening BBL encounter declaring that the team was making a united stand to take a knee before every match of the season, having heard stories from teammates of racism they had suffered.

However, the Sixers women’s side took a different approach and did not take a knee during the WBBL – instead participating in barefoot circles – and the summer will be full of players choosing to take a different stance to their teammates in regards of how they respond to BLM.

Cummins said the Stars had taken a consistent approach across both the women’s and men’s seasons.

“Our position is consistent with our position in the WBBL. I can’t speak for the Sixers as to their position, I would note that they didn’t do that in the WBBL,” he said.

“But our position has always been that it’s an individual players’ choice and we stand behind those players as to how they choose to express their stance against racism and we will continue to do so.

The Stars ‘have taken a consistent approach across both competitions’.

“We talked about (our approach) before we got on a plane to come (to Canberra) and we specifically talked about it as a group rather than making it about any specific player.

“Just because you’re a black player, Indigenous player, it doesn’t make you necessarily any more passionate or less passionate about it. So we allowed everyone to think about it and think about how they want to express their views. So it was certainly something we discussed.

Stars keeper stands during BLM gesture

Melbourne Stars wicketkeeper Ben Dunk has shown he is his own man by standing while others took a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Stars gloveman stood at the start of Friday night’s clash against Brisbane Heat in Canberra while players from both sides and officials took a knee.

The gesture has become common practice by athletes across the world before sporting fixtures after pleas for social equality had fallen on deaf ears following the killing of George Floyd by police earlier in the year.

Both the Stars and Brisbane Heat, as well as the umpires, took a knee before Friday night’s game, except for Dunk who stood behind the stumps.

Ben Dunk stands as Max Bryant takes a knee.

Stars West Indian recruit Andre Fletcher takes a knee.

Fletcher was joined by teammates including Glenn Maxwell.

“Everyone is entitled to acknowledge this movement, however they feel the correct manner is,” Fox Cricket commentator and Australian great Adam Gilchrist said during TV coverage of the match.

“It’s an individual decision. I think one thing that we are all well and truly in agreement about is that there is no place for racism in any facet of life.”

The Sydney Sixers had earlier pledged to take a knee before every game this season after hearing stories from teammates about racism they had suffered.

There has been a clear change in direction this summer with our national teams and WBBL squads taking part in Barefoot Circles before their games.

Dunk and the Stars take on Sydney Thunder in Canberra on Saturday from 4.05pm.

Originally published as Melbourne Stars wicketkeeper Ben Dunk stands again as teammates take a knee in BLM gesture