Quinton de Kock released a statement after being in headlines due to his controversial stint ahead of the match against West Indies. He refused to take the knee and invited criticism over the same as it was a directive issued by the Cricket South Africa in support of Black Lives Matter movement.
Today, the statement released by CSK read, “I would like to start by saying sorry to my teammates, and the fans back home. If me taking a knee helps to educate others, and makes the lives of others better, I am more than happy to do so.”
“Being called a racist because of a misunderstanding hurts me deeply. It hurts my family. It hurts my pregnant wife. I am not a racist. In my hearts of hearts, I know that. And I think those who know me know that.” He continued, “I did not, in any way, mean to disrespect anyone by not playing against West Indies, especially the West Indian team themselves. May be some people don’t understand that we were just hit with this on Tuesday morning, on the way to a game.”
He explained, “”The rights and equality of all people is more important than any individual. I was raised to understand that we have rights, and they are important. I felt my rights were taken away when I was told what we had to do in the way that we were told.”
However, he apologised for the incident eventually. “I am deeply sorry for the 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 explain myself a little bit.”
