What happened : The South African opener, Quinton De Kock (@qdk_12), has apologized for refusing to take a knee, in their match against West Indies, in the T20 World Cup game. His apology comes two days after he withdrew from the team and T20 World Cup. Earlier, the Cricket South Africa had said that De Kock withdrew from the World Cup, citing ‘personal reasons.’
T he apology : During June, De Kock had refused to take the knee and said, “It is my own personal opinion,” however, after the recent backlash, Quinton decided to clarify his stance, and “I have been called a lot of things as a cricketer. But those did not hurt. Being called a racist because of a misunderstanding hurts me deeply. It hurts my family.” He added, “In my heart I know I am not a racist, and I think those who know me know that.” However, he apologized via a statement released by the CSA, “I did not, in any way, mean to disrespect anyone by not playing against West Indies… I would like to start by apologizing to my teammates, and the fans back home.”
Als o : His apology was taken by an open heart by various cricketers and social media users. As former Lahore Qalandars coach and South African national Paddy Upton @paddyupton commented, “This is a fantastic reply – in very much QdK words – not some bland lawyer speak we often see. You are a good man.” Whereas New Zealand’s pacer, @mitch_m81, said, “Love you my guy ‘you are not that guy pal’!” However, it is still uncertain whether he will play for the South African team in the next team or not, though, he stated, “If he(Temba Bavuma captain) and the team, and South Africa, will have me. I would love nothing more than to play cricket for my country again.”