‘Nobody will force me to take a knee!’, Renaldo Bothma fumes

Former Bulls and Sharks loose forward Renaldo Bothma has launched a scathing response to the criticism of South African players allegedly opting not to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

The 30-year-old Bothma insisted it was unreasonable to be forced to kneel, except for his religious beliefs.

“I don’t care how many threats I receive,” Bothma said in a social media post.

“I will stand up for every single rugby player that has been questioned and criticised about not taking a knee!

“There is not one person in this world that can force someone to take a knee for something or someone else than God!”

Bothma, who had appeared in 16 Tests for the Namibian national team, had previously played for the Golden Lions, Pumas, Sharks and Bulls before joining English club Harlequins in 2017.

He was reacting to the controversy which arose after some South African players did not take a knee before English Premiership rugby matches last weekend.

Though he noted the players were wearing t-shirts which supported BLM, which had gained significant traction across the global over the last few months, sports minister Nathi Mthethwa said he had asked SA Rugby to address the matter.

Bothma felt too much was being read into the situation, however, with the decision not to take a knee not necessarily displaying a stance against BLM.

“Every single player had a BLM T-shirt on… to support the campaign, so stop making this a racial issue!” he said.

“It’s absolutely bull! GET OVER YOURSELF!

“And all you pathetic ministers, sort out your corrupted ANC before questioning any sport athlete!”

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