Quinton de Kock says he refused to take the knee on the 2021 T20 World Cup due to interference from Cricket South Africa (CSA).
The 30-year-old made himself unavailable for South Africa’s opening match towards West Indies consequently.
Explaining his resolution for the primary time, De Kock says he needed to face up for his team-mates and their proper to have their very own say.
“We’re not simply pawns to CSA,” De Kock advised the BBC’s Stumped podcast.
On the time, the choice prompted main debate with groups internationally in all sports activities and societies taking the knee following the dying of George Floyd, which sparked the beginning of the Black Lives Matter motion.
Following his omission towards West Indies, De Kock launched a assertion by which he apologised and mentioned “I’m not a racist”, earlier than returning to the group for the remainder of the match.
“All of us had a selection, when the Black Lives Matter factor got here up, the group, all of us mentioned it,” De Kock mentioned. “We thought as a group, we are able to all have our personal views on it.
“A few us decided to not get on the knee, however we have been in help of the fellows who have been as a result of we perceive their background.
“We bought the directive from the highest – it was the entire state of affairs, they advised us on the morning of the sport. How they’re instructing/interfering in our group tradition when they need to be anxious about greater issues than the protests, it simply did not sit proper with myself and couple of different guys within the group.
“It is not objection, it is about you have taken somebody’s straight away, who’re they to pressure somebody to do it? It does not matter in case you are my boss, sadly in cricket, it does not work like that.
“The best way of the world by which cricket works now, cricketers have gotten their very own bosses now to some extent. You suppose you may inform a participant what to do, you count on them to hearken to you. I can promise you that the majority gamers will flip round to you and say no, that is not the way it works.
“I wasn’t going to let somebody take my rights from me and sadly, it was in a public area which on the time it was fairly demanding, however I believed what I did was proper – not only for me however to indicate the group which you could arise to what’s proper and what’s incorrect and in your rights as a participant.
“It was extra of a much bigger image for me.”