Sharjah: South African star Quinton de Kock on Thursday made himself available for his team’s remaining matches of the T20 World Cup matches, saying he is deeply sorry and will be ‘more than happy’ taking a knee if it educates others.
Previously, he pulled out of South Africa’s clash against West Indies following his refusal to take the knee, where the team had been asked to collectively take a knee before every game at the World Cup to support the Black Lives Matter movement, by Cricket South Africa. The board made it mandatory for each member of the squad to show the gesture in the ongoing WC.
In a lengthy statement shared on CSA’s official Twitter handle, De Kock has said he did not, in any way meant to “disrespect anyone by not playing against West Indies, especially the West Indian team themselves.”
“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,” the statement read.
De Kock says he will take the knee if it helps in spreading the message of anti-racism and makes the lives of others better. “If me taking a knee helps to educate others and makes the lives of others better, I am more than happy to do so. 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,” it read.
Quinton de Kock statement 📝 pic.twitter.com/Vtje9yUCO6
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) October 28, 2021
De Kock also explained that he comes from a mixed race family and that black lives have mattered to him since the day he was born. “I am deeply sorry for all the hurt, confusion and anger that I have caused. I was quiet on this very important issue until now but I feel I have to explain myself a little bit. For those who don’t kn ow, I come from a mixed race family. My half-sisters are coloured and my step morn is Black. For me, Black lives have mattered since I was born. Not just because there was an international movement,” he added.
Explaining his reason behind pulling out of the WI clash, the 28 year old said the squad was told about CSA’s decision the the match day itself and the fact that the players were asked to do it or face consequences felt as his “rights were taken away”. “The rights and equality of all people is more important than any individual. 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,” he said.
Lastly the batsman went on to praise the leadership of Temba Bavuma and concluded his statement by saying he would like to be back in the team if they would accept him. “I just want to thank my team-mates for their support, especially my captain, Temba. People might not recognise, but he is a flipping amazing leader. If he and the team, and South Africa, will have me, I would love nothing more than to play cricket for my country again.” he concluded.
