Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena weighs in on the Quinton de Kock saga

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has weighed in on the Proteas batsman Quinton de Kock’s refusal to take a knee.

READ | PROEAS CAPTAIN TEMBA BAVUMA REACTS TO QUINTON DE KOCK REFUSING TO TAKE THE KNEE

De Kock refused to take a knee and pulled out of the Proteas T20 Cricket World Cup victory over the West Indies and Mokwena has since weighed in on that decision. 

De Kock caused a huge stir

De Kock stunned many in the cricket fraternity when he ignored a directive issued by Cricket South Africa (CSA) Tuesday that enforced the kneeling gesture on the Proteas players for the duration of the T20 Cricket World Cup. The 28-year old has since issued a statement apologising and committing to the action. Mokwena has since given his take on the matter.

Mokwena weighs in

“A very sensitive question, As soon as it moves away from the sporting context and moves through to racial connotations it is hypersensitive, and therefore I have to be extremely sensitive in what I say.” Said Mokwena 

READ | WHEN WILL QUINTON DE KOCK’S T20 FATE BE DECIDED? CSA CHAIRPERSON REVEALS ALL!

“Sometimes maybe you need a bit of context because it becomes very difficult to find conclusions out of context. But my opinion at the moment, because of where we are as a country, is everybody has a right to free speech and the freedom to be able to express what they believe in.” Mokwena continued on the de Kock situation 

READ : CSA ISSUE LATEST ON QUINTON DE KOCK

“He (de Kock) could easily say he comes from a background of saying that ‘all lives matter’ and not just black lives. But because of where we come from as a country and who we are, I think as soon as you represent the nation you then have to move a little bit away from your own personal beliefs and understand the type of nation that you represent.”

Believes he should’ve taken the knee

Mokwena then uses the context of the country to illustrate that de Kock maybe should’ve taken the knee 

READ | QUINTON DE KOCK FINALLY OPENS UP ON REFUSING TO TAKE A KNEE

“As a nation that is probably the flagship for democracy and supporting the importance of the black culture or the black nation, it becomes very important for us to understand that when you’re in that type of space, the ideology is that the beliefs must be the nation’s beliefs.Therefore I think it was not proper for him (de Kock) not to take the knee.” Said Mokwena 

READ | CSA ISSUE RESPONSE TO QUINTON DE KOCK’S STATEMENT

Mokwena, however, did acknowledge de Kock’s character and praised him for his apology 

Praises him for his apology

“It takes a person of huge character and humility to accept he’s wrong,” Mokwena added.

READ | AB DE VILLIERS REASONS FOR PROTEAS SNUB REVEALED!

“Kudos to him for apologising because many wouldn’t and that’s, unfortunately, the space that we live in. Black lives do matter and we fully are behind that because of the past, and it will take a long time for us as a country and maybe as a world to move away from this space of segregation and racial influences.The reality again is that the country is bigger than all of us.” Mokwena concluded on the matter.