8 South African Rugby Player Refuse to Bend the Knee to Blm in England

- 8 South African rugby players have caused a stir when they refused to bend the knee to show support for the Black Lives Matter anti-racism movement

- 11 players refused to kneel, 8 of them being South Africans

- The move was met with widespread condemnation in England

PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Briefly.co.za News on your News Feed!

South African rugby players who are currently playing in England have caused a controversy by refusing to show support for the Black Lives Matter anti-racism movement.

Briefly.co.za learned that the incident took place shortly before an English Premiership game. It was when the Harlequins took on Sale Sharks that 11 players from the Manchester club refused to kneel, 8 of them being South African.

Faf de Klerk, Lood de Jager, twins Jean-Luc and Daniel du Preez, their older brother Robert, Akker van der Merwe, Coenie Oosthuizen and club captain Jono Ross took the decision to remain standing according to IOL.

Marcus Thuram player profile: Borussia, injury, contracts

Football

READ ALSO: Nasty C reveals why he doesn't have any Zulu verses in his songs

“Yes, the message is right, the statements are right, and we’ve been told the T-shirts mean something, but we cannot ignore the connotations of this,” wrote English rugby writer Jack de Menezes.

“All 8 South Africans stand (with 3 others) and it does not look good at all. We can’t just ignore history.”

Twitter user Cheryl Roberts tweeted: “Look at this! South Africa’s men rugby players, playing for Sale Sharks in England refused to take a knee in support and acknowledgement of #BlackLivesMatter.”

“They wore the mandatory team t-shirt – about being against racism. Much later for these white privileged sports of SA,” she continued.

READ ALSO: Zodwa's ex-bae Vusi's purchase of luxury whip allegedly "staged"

Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that former Bafana Bafana footballer Mark Fish has been caught up in controversy and been labelled a “denialist of the legitimacy of Black Lives Matter”.

Tebogo Langerman's cars, net worth, houses, wife and salary

Football

This was after he liked a post online which was critical of the Black Lives Matter movement and Siya Kolisi's video on the subject on Instagram.

Briefly.co.za learned that this resulted in him trending on Twitter with people voicing their opinions on the matter, with some accusing him of being a racist.

In other news, Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has finally spoken out about Black Lives Matter. He posted a serious video on Instagram where he expressed himself and how he felt about the movement.

Kolisi shared his experiences growing up as a black child in a world that made him feel like his life did not matter.

Growing up in a township creates challenges that people who enjoy a more privileged life simply cannot understand unless they make the effort to learn what it is really like to grow up trying to survive each day.

Enjoyed reading our story? Download BRIEFLY's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major South African news!