London: Former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding has condemned the act of England and Australia of not taking a knee in the support of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ campaign during their ongoing limited-overs series.
England and West Indies took a knee at the beginning of each of their three Tests in earlier July. England continued the practice in ODIs against Ireland. But they discontinued in a subsequent series against Pakistan and Australia. “Now that the West Indies team has gone home, that doesn’t mean that you still shouldn’t be respecting the message and what it stands for,” Holding told Sky Sports.
Before the current series began, Australian captain Aaron Finch said ‘Education is more important than the protest’, therefore his team would not take the knee. Holding has expressed disagreement saying education and raising awareness both are important to fight inequality.
“(Finch) is saying that he’s glad he is part of a sport where no one is barred from playing, irrespective of your race, your gender, your ethnicity, your religion,” Holding added. “Well, I don’t know any sport where anyone is barred from playing because of anything at all. So that’s a pretty lame statement.”
“I’m not here to try to force people to do what they do not want to do. If you think you do not need to sympathise with and recognise the movement, just say that. Don’t come up with lame excuses. I don’t care about any politics behind Black Lives Matter. I care about those three words. Black. Lives. Matter,” added the Windies great.
