Taking the knee/QPR

[Hakkz]

lol your full of crap.. theres nothing wrong with the kneeling .

What does kneeling achieve at this point then? Explain to us simple peasants.

Maybe they should share a couple of hashtags and change profile pics on social media too?

 

[Deleted member 27995]

Darren Lewis on Sunday morning on Sky was making the same points Sir Les Ferdinand and @Maxtremist have made in this thread, he even made it clear to Danny Mills who kept trying to speak over him - I wish I could find a video to it.

The point is excellent and I think it's time those in authority listened rather than sitting feeling they've done enough, they haven't, once it becomes tokenism the reason becomes diluted and then eventually lost.

It shouldn't this time, it's far too important for not just football but more so for society.

 

[Tucker]

Darren Lewis on Sunday morning on Sky was making the same points Sir Les Ferdinand and @Maxtremist have made in this thread, he even made it clear to Danny Mills who kept trying to speak over him - I wish I could find a video to it.

The point is excellent and I think it's time those in authority listened rather than sitting feeling they've done enough, they haven't, once it becomes tokenism the reason becomes diluted and then eventually lost.

It shouldn't this time, it's far too important for not just football but more so for society.

Yeah I saw that too, Mills was being a bit of a plonker. It was coming from a good place I suspect, but it was classic “white person telling a black guy how to solve racism.”

 

[Deleted member 27995]

Yeah I saw that too, Mills was being a bit of a plonker. It was coming from a good place I suspect, but it was classic “white person telling a black guy how to solve racism.”

Yeah, it was awkward because Lewis was making the point. Sky sports in that respect is embarrassing. (nothing new there)

 

[Gassin's finest]

Fuck me, who let Welshie back in?

 

[glacierSpurs]

Brilliant Sir Les, not always we see/hear these honest opinions in football yet he got them all on point.

Do you actually have a constructive opinion or does everything come wrapped in lol and smh.

Actually what does smh stands for? Pardon me, before I assumed one expletive definition of it from a googling I did

 

[Hakkz]

Brilliant Sir Les, not always we see/hear these honest opinions in football yet he got them all on point.


Actually what does smh stands for? Pardon me, before I assumed one expletive definition of it from a googling I did

Shaking my head.

 

[spursgirls]

Appreciate the sentiment behind this and happy people are sharing their opinion. But to just be blunt about it I'd rather not make a poll for this issue. I don't wanna try and speak for other Black men but I personally don't wanna put a poll up where one option would basically be me saying 'As a Black man, I'm tired of seeing this performative display of solidarity' whilst the other option is essentially 'no no, this performance is helping people remember racism is still happening'

That’s fair enough. I quite understand ?

 

[Maxtremist]

I agree with Les in terms of Europe but in America it has an impact.

Taking a knee started during the NFL and Kaepernick

The majority of NFL teams are still refusing to take a knee now, with teams boycotting it and sitting in the locker rooms, imo like a bunch of bitches

They started this shit and cant even be unified after all that's happened. Kansas City booed their team standing for BLM

So I think the main difference (and from what I understand of it from Les as well as my own beliefs) is that the knee itself isn't the issue. The issue here is that before every match now we're taking the Knee and it's now a performance/ritual/scheduled/planned thing. It's not a protest or anything like that. And in that sense it's not really doing anything. The players are all pretty much being told to take a knee rather than them all genuinely wanting too or feeling it's the best course of action.

In America, from what I know of the states etc... the reason why the Kaepernick Knee stuff was such a big deal was because it was during the Anthem. That plus it being one players personal choice rather than an orchestrated team move.

Put it this way, there's a difference between Tottenham and the rest of the premier league etc... kneeling before every game because they have to, VS. Harry Kane scoring a goal for Tottenham and as a celebration, him actively choosing to take a Knee as a form of celebration/protest.

 

[hellava_tough]

It's an interesting debate, so thanks to the OP for posting.

As long as there's no pressure on people to conform to bending the knee and it's a free action, then people should be free to express themselves before a game.

Personally, I wouldn't bend the knee, because I think it's become more of a political message than an anti racism symbol, but I'm sure others will see it in different ways.

 

[PCozzie]

As I understand it, Kaepernick took a knee in protest at *standing* for the US national anthem. It was a deliberate, and powerful, act of defiance against a society he felt discriminated against black people. Two parts of this act made it particularly powerful: it was a decision borne of personal belief; and it was highly visible. When thinking about the mass kneeling of footballers before matches it's important to look at the differences between the two circumstances.

Where Kaepernick instigated his own action, professional footballers here and elsewhere are responding to a call to do so by an organisation. Debate can be had as to whether this organisation (Black Lives Matter) is political, but the effect of the act is diluted by how often it now happens. The shock is not there. Which leads in to the second point - it's visibility. Notwithstanding that there are no fans in the stadiums, many are tuning out. It has become as mundane as the pre-match handshake, it has lost its shock value.

For these reasons alone it is time to stop kneeling. Racism in sport isn't going to be eradicated (if it can at all) by gestures. Professional football in the UK works with a longstanding partner - Kick it Out - and it should press for change through it with long term plans. Kneeling has divided fans, the opposite of its intended goal; its time to stop.

 

[Trotter]

Tom Huddlestone has repeated what Les Ferdinand did, and just says it now just feels like a ticking the box PR exercise.
I will be interested to hear Lewis Hamilton's view, as he has been very outspoken, almost militant on the subject previously.

 

[sausage]

As I understand it, Kaepernick took a knee in protest at *standing* for the US national anthem. It was a deliberate, and powerful, act of defiance against a society he felt discriminated against black people. Two parts of this act made it particularly powerful: it was a decision borne of personal belief; and it was highly visible. When thinking about the mass kneeling of footballers before matches it's important to look at the differences between the two circumstances.

Where Kaepernick instigated his own action, professional footballers here and elsewhere are responding to a call to do so by an organisation. Debate can be had as to whether this organisation (Black Lives Matter) is political, but the effect of the act is diluted by how often it now happens. The shock is not there. Which leads in to the second point - it's visibility. Notwithstanding that there are no fans in the stadiums, many are tuning out. It has become as mundane as the pre-match handshake, it has lost its shock value.

For these reasons alone it is time to stop kneeling. Racism in sport isn't going to be eradicated (if it can at all) by gestures. Professional football in the UK works with a longstanding partner - Kick it Out - and it should press for change through it with long term plans. Kneeling has divided fans, the opposite of its intended goal; its time to stop.

To exaggerate it, it's comparable to many, many, events that have taken place in the USA in (unfortunate) recent history in order to give society a bit of a wake-up call. In terms of chronology of two particular events: at one end, Rosa Parks refused to give her seat up on the bus - at the other, Kaepernick chose to defy the (arguably) subordinate action of glorifying a President, Government, or system that has inherent racial issues. In doing so, both made relatively simply (but of course brave and difficult) actions that sent a huge shockwave through society. I feel like the full effectiveness of that action will come from keeping it relevant in the environment in which it is meant, not by making an obligatory tradition out of it.

People kneeling in this country before a game of association football (when the 'worship the anthem and flag' stuff is not even here anyway) is a bit out of context. I feel like it is coming to be point where it's actually a parody or at risk mocking of it by trivialising the whole thing, because people are doing it prior to a game of football as part of an association that is properly archaic itself (there's an element of hyprocrisy).

 

[Maxtremist]

To exaggerate it, it's comparable to many, many, events that have taken place in the USA in (unfortunate) recent history in order to give society a bit of a wake-up call. In terms of chronology of two particular events: at one end, Rosa Parks refused to give her seat up on the bus - at the other, Kaepernick chose to defy the (arguably) subordinate action of glorifying a President, Government, or system that has inherent racial issues. In doing so, both made relatively simply (but of course brave and difficult) actions that sent a huge shockwave through society. I feel like the full effectiveness of that action will come from keeping it relevant in the environment in which it is meant, not by making an obligatory tradition out of it.

People kneeling in this country before a game of association football (when the 'worship the anthem and flag' stuff is not even here anyway) is a bit out of context. I feel like it is coming to be point where it's actually a parody or at risk mocking of it by trivialising the whole thing, because people are doing it prior to a game of football as part of an association that is properly archaic itself (there's an element of hyprocrisy).

I remember when project restart happened, the first game was Villa vs. Sheffield United and then they all kneeled and that came out of nowhere. That hadn't leaked ahead of the game or anything and in that moment, it was effective. But then they did it for the next game, and the next game. And it was good to see the solidarity but even then it was a little bit like 'Oh, so this is the thing we're doing?'

Then this season starts, and it's still happening but basically nothing else has changed? Yeah, it's starting to feel like a parody/hollow doing it in such an organised fashion

 

[mano-obe]

Novelty soon wore off. Reminds me of my wife, she stopped getting on her knees years ago

 

[SlotBadger]

just take the knee like everyone else stop trying to get press coverage by being different... irrelevent team

Lol all the negative reactions cause i said take a knee like everyone else.. keep it coming boys smh snowflakes.

okay what are they doing instead then? nothing? lol.

there is nothing bad about kneeling lol... and it doesn't qualify as "not good" smh.

lol your full of crap.. theres nothing wrong with the kneeling .

yep ignorant because i said there is nothing wrong with kneeling okay whatever pal you have a good evening

Tell you what, gimme a bell and I’ll gladly take the knee, smh, and give you a good evening if it means getting you a temporary hit of endorphins...

Let’s just hope I don’t lol or kmt.

 

[Donki]

@Spurs2020

You need this more than me.