Picture Credit: Twitter
South African wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock has been in the limelight over the past few days, since he refused to take a knee and made himself unavailable for the match against West Indies. Notably, CSA had issued a directive that the entire team had to collectively take a knee prior to the game to extend their support to the Black Lives Matter movement. The 28-year-old decided to open up and clarify his stand as of why he refused to take a knee and apologized to his teammates for the ruckus caused by his absence in an emotional discussion with the board.
Quinton de Kock apologizes to teammate, ‘happy’ to take the knee
The Proteas batter finally broke his silence and clarified his stand along with expressing his desire to play for South Africa in the remainder of the tournament.
"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. If me taking a knee helps to educate others, and makes the lives of others better, I am more than happy to do so," De Kock mentioned in an official statement released by CSA.
He further added that he didn’t mean to disrespect anyone by not play against West Indies, especially the West Indies team. De Kock explained that he refused to take a knee because of the manner in which it is issued to the team, just prior to the match against West Indies.
“Maybe some people don't understand that we were just hit with this on Tuesday morning, on the way to a game. I am deeply sorry for all the hurt, confusion and anger that I have caused," he added.
“I’m not a racist; the tag hurt me and my pregnant wife”: De Kock
In the elaborate statement issued by Quinton de Kock, he specified how Black Lives mattered to him ever since he was born due to his family background and not because it’s an international campaign. “Being called a racist because of a misunderstanding hurts me deeply. It hurts my family. It hurts my pregnant wife,” the wicketkeeper-batter expressed.
He further went on to thank his teammates for their support and hailed the Proteas captain Temba Bavuma for being an amazing leader. De Kock also expressed that he’d participate in the remaining games of the T20 World Cup “if the team, and South Africa, will have me". However, it’s still unclear whether Quinton will play the remaining matches, as the final decision is to be made by the board and the management.
Currently placed 4th on the points table, South Africa will next play against Sri Lanka on Saturday, 30th October 2021.