Before their league match against FC Schalke on Oct. 14, German soccer team Hertha Berlin knelt “for a tolerant Berlin and an open-minded world.”
Hertha BSC stands for tolerance and responsibility! For a tolerant Berlin and an open-minded world, now and forevermore! #TakeAKnee #hahohe pic.twitter.com/spZvRSGVxQ
— Hertha Berlin (@HerthaBSC_EN) October 14, 2017
The protest included not only the starting eleven players on the field, but the reserves and coaching staff as well. This demonstration comes in the wake of similar protests throughout the NFL (albeit they started a good amount of time ago).
The practice of kneeling during the national anthem is not foreign to other sports and leagues outside of football. In fact, almost since the beginning, the WNBA have participated in these protests against police brutality and racism in general. Additionally, United States Women’s National Team forward Megan Rapinoe knelt during the anthem multiple times last year, along with other soccer players in the National Women’s Soccer League. Since these two leagues are not as widely covered as the NFL, their solidarity tended to get passed over by popular discourse and mainstream media outlets. Still, it is important to recognize the people who have been with Colin Kaepernick from the start.
The demonstration today by the Hertha Berlin squad marks the beginning of the spread of protesting before sporting events to places beyond the U.S. and Canada. In the coming weeks, it is not a stretch to suspect that other European teams will participate in some sort of gesture. Whether or not they will be faced with the same heavy criticism North American athletes have remains to be seen. However, since the country’s national anthem is not played before sporting events in Europe, it will be difficult to use the “disrespecting the country” notion as a counterpoint to any athlete who kneels or does anything of the sort. Still, arguments about what is being protested and how they are going about it will most likely occur due to the sheer emotion the topic has stirred up. The next couple of weeks will be interesting for sure.
