‘Taking the knee’ is not mandatory

Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa, hardly a standout minister in a Cabinet of mediocrities, needs reminding about a document called the constitution.

In there, South Africans – of all colours, creeds, religions and political persuasions – are guaranteed the sorts of freedoms many were denied during the years of apartheid. He, as government minister, has no right to tell people what they should believe.

It may not be to his particular liking if sports teams or individual players refuse to “take the knee” in symbolic support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) campaign … but there is nothing he can do about it. He cannot, as he has tried to, insist that the SA Rugby Union take action against players who failed to kneel before the Harlequins and Sale Sharks match in England at the weekend.

BLM has, whether the minister likes it or not, become a polarising phenomenon around the world – but trying to force people to do something which makes them feel uncomfortable is not a way to win hearts and minds. The movement’s ethos should be strong enough to stand on its own, without any form of official coercion.

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