The Sydney Sixers players who refused to take the knee
Sydney Sixers players chose to stand in a barefoot circle so as to not isolate two South Africa teammates who refused to take the knee.
Quinton de Kock is not the first South African cricketer to refuse to take a knee before games with the issue rearing its head during last year’s WBBL, but his refusal to play the game has taken the controversy to another level as it has been revealed South African players have received death threats in the past for participating in the gesture.
Two South African players with Sydney Sixers rejected calls to take a knee before last year’s tournament but agreed to join in a taking a barefoot circle ceremony with teammates as an anti-racist gesture.
De Kock’s refusal to take a knee and subsequent withdrawal from the South African T20 World Cup side overnight has caused a sensation in world cricket.
The exciting wicketkeeper batsman refused to take the field after Cricket South Africa, responding to a controversy over some players not taking the knee before the first match against Australia, ordered the side to make the gesture associated with the Black Lives Matter movement.
South African couple Marizanne Kapp and Dane Van Niekerk told teammates they only took a knee before their god and would not be making the gesture before the first match in 2020.
The Sixers women decided that they would not take a knee because they did not wish to isolate their teammates and focused on the barefoot circle.
The Sixers men’s side did after West Indian Carlos Brathwaite persuaded the side, which includes Indigenous all rounder Dan Christian, that it was an appropriate gesture.
Niekerk is playing with the Strikers this year and Kapp the Scorchers.
Cricket South Africa director Graeme Smith revealed that teams and players had received death threats after taking a knee during a domestic tournament last year and at least one player is understood to have said he could not during the BBL because of right wing extremists at home.
“It’s been a really challenging experience. All of us have found ourselves in a really heated space,” Smith said in December. “We’ve taken an immense amount of abuse, death threats. It’s been an eye-opening experience. It has shocked me how heated things have got.”
De Kock’s withdrawal has created a sensation in world cricket with some condemning the cricket board for mandating the act and others criticising de Kock for his stance.
His captain, Temba Bavuma, spoke about the issue after the side beat the West Indies in the game.
The skipper said the side was told before the 90 minute bus ride to the ground that it would be expected to take a knee but he only found out about de Kock’s decision after they arrived.
“As a team, we are surprised and taken aback by the news. Quinton is a big player for the team, not just with the bat, but from a senior point of view, so not having this at my disposal, as a captain, is obviously something I wasn’t looking forward to,” Bavuma said.
“In saying that, Quinton is an adult. He is a man in his own shoes. We respect his decision, we respect his convictions, and I know he will be standing behind the decision he has taken.
“I found out as the captain when I got to the changing room. There wasn’t a great deal of time for us to thoroughly discuss this matter. Unfortunately, it was a matter of us digesting what we’ve been told and finding a way to move forward.”
Bavuma said it was “probably one of the toughest days I’ve had to deal with as a captain, as a leader of the team, for obvious reasons with the off-field matters.
“Unfortunately, we had to get the job done. There was still a game of cricket for our country. It was important that as much as everything was happening we found a way to get into the right mental space and take it home for our country.
“We have a few days before the next game and I think those days will be tough for the group. Guys who want to know in terms of his decision, will use that time to find out a bit better.
“Quinton is an adult. He made his decision. You have to respect it, whether you agree with it or not.
“As much as you have the choice to decide what you want to do, you can’t escape the consequences of the choices and decisions we make. If there are people out there who think certain people need more clarity, then the fans, the media, it’s best that you ask those guys directly. It becomes blurry when you are asking guys about other guys. If you are really wanting to get the clarity that you seem to want, you should probably ask those individuals themselves.”
South African journalist Lungani Zama defended de Kock against charges or racism.
“Quinny just took umbrage at the fact there was an instruction given with no choice for players,” The Guardian writer said on SEN Breakfast.
“Given the amount of time South Africa have had to take a definitive, collective stance on it and then they’ve almost made up the rule in the middle of a tournament ahead of a must-win game.
“The previous board had said to them that every player is allowed to express themselves in whichever way they deem fit. To suddenly change that on the eve of such an important match …
“I’ll qualify it by saying Quinton de Kock, if you’re asking me if he’s racist or against Black Lives Matter, I’ll unequivocally say no because I know him personally.
“I know the work that he’s done to improve the lives and experiences of black players and black people around him for years and years, long before Black Lives Matter was a trend on social media.”
“I think because their constitutional rights were taken away from them, it was an instruction from the boss when it hadn’t been previously discussed,” he added.
“Added to that, from my conversations with him before, he sees it as a token gesture which has been watered down to almost mean nothing. It’s something that you have to do to be seen to be doing the right thing.
“His preference is to actually do the right thing, which he does in the way that he lives, the way that he interacts, and the way that he treats people of all races.
“It’s the token gesture for him that’s the issue.”
Former ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed told SEN that CSA had “overreached in imposing this obligation on their players” because it “moves player contracts into moral and ethical issues”.
ABC commentator and former Australian rules player Tony Armstrong said he found de Kock’s gesture surprising.
“We’ve seen sporting teams right around the world start to get behind this movement,” he said.
“So for him to not do that, all that I think — and this is my own personal opinion — the question has been bubbling in my mind is how racist do you have to be, to not just take a knee and do that in conjunction with your teammates to show support, to even pretend to show support? You’ve got to be pretty strong on your conviction not to.
“At the very best it is confounding, confusing and puzzling.”
Cricket South Africa released a statement about the directive before the game.
“Concerns were raised that the different postures taken by team members in support of the BLM initiative created an unintended perception of disparity or lack of support for the initiative,” it read.
“After considering all relevant issues, including the position of the players, the Board felt that it was imperative for the team to be seen taking a united and consistent stand against racism, especially given SA’s history. Several other teams at the World Cup have adopted a consistent stance against the issue, and the Board felt it is time for all SA players to do the same.”
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