"I was naive to think that it wouldn’t make a huge difference" - Ben Dunk on not taking the knee
Veteran Australian player Ben Dunk regrets not taking a knee in light of recent events involving South Africa's Quinton de Kock. While De Kock apologised for not taking the knee before the World T20 game against the West Indies, his actions divided the cricketing fraternity.
Dunk, who bowed his head, unlike his teammates, came under intense scrutiny in last year's BBL for not taking the knee. He now says he regrets doing so after De Kock apologised for not taking the knee and pledging to take it to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
He's done it AGAIN!
Four days ago Ben Dunk hit 93 off 43 for the @lahoreqalandars. Now this 🤯🤯🤯 https://t.co/Pi0NMLNTDI
In an exclusive interview with News Corp, Dunk said he was unaware that not taking the knee would make a massive difference. Dunk realised he should have followed his teammates in their stance against racism, saying.
"Rather than bow my head, which I did, the right thing to do was to support the movement. I was naive at the time to think that it wouldn’t make a huge difference."
"As we’ve seen 12 months on, there’s a fair bit of hurt that’s involved around this issue, and when you have the opportunity to do the right thing and you don’t do it – and it is the right thing, to make a stand against racism. It’s a no-brainer."
The Black Lives Matter movement started in May 2020. Cricket teams worldwide began taking the knee to support the cause. Former West Indian player Michael Holding has been a significant voice for the same.
"To call it my biggest regret, I'm not overstating that" - Ben Dunk
Dunk, who has played five T20Is, feels he didn't think about the consequences when he did not take the knee to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
"Unfortunately, I had tunnel vision, and was quite selfish and self-absorbed in trying to keep my career alive and naive to think that me doing that wouldn’t make a difference and naive to not have realised the conversation would quickly shift … to who is taking a knee and who is not."
The Queensland-born gloveman added that regret would be an overstatement. Dunk added in this regard:
"It’s one of the biggest regrets of my career, and I don’t say that lightly given I’ve had some poor performances that have caused people to lose their jobs who are close to me."
"Good people, good coaches have lost their jobs due to underperforming players like myself. To call it my biggest regret, I’m not overstating that."
Dunk is one of the most prolific performers in the BBL, having played for four franchises. He has 1727 runs in 83 games at 22.72 and a strike rate of 126.61.