Why did Quinton de Kock refuse to take the knee prior to South Africa’s T20 World Cup clash with the West Indies?
The wicketkeeper-batsman withdrew from his country’s second fixture of the tournament in Dubai, citing personal reasons.
He was in the XI to play against the West Indies, but after being told by team management via the South African Cricket Board that each player must kneel to support the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, he opted out.
It has sparked plenty of debate seeing as it’s not the first time de Kock has taken this stance, with Johannesburg journalist Lungani Zama explaining to this knowledge why this has again occurred.
“‘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.”
Pressed further to explain why de Kock made himself unavailable for his country, Zama feels the “token gesture” and “watered down” nature of what has become of acknowledging BLM is prevalent in the 28-year-old’s decision.
“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.”
Zama expects that this perhaps could be the end of de Kock’s time as a South African cricketer, tipping him to become a “T20 mercenary” by playing around the world.
“It is very, very possible that he becomes a T20 mercenary on the back of this because the initial uproar has been so severe and so sustained that he’s become the scapegoat and the face of resistance, if you will, for those who are unfortunately not in the know,” Zama said.
“Because he hasn’t taken a knee and because he hasn’t even taken his place in the match on the back of being told to take a knee, therefore he’s against the establishment and therefore he must be made an example of.
“So it’s quite likely that he becomes a T20 mercenary playing around the world collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars and never plays for South Africa again.”
Without de Kock, South Africa defeated the West Indies by eight wickets and will next take on Sri Lanka on Saturday night (AEDT).