“Dad is a doctor in small town; some people stopped going to his practice” - AB de Villiers opens up on backlash for supporting BLM movement
Former South African captain AB de Villiers has revealed that he received a lot of backlash for supporting the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in one of the matches he played in. The Proteas legend recalled that some people were so miffed with him that they even stopped visiting his father’s clinic.
BLM is a political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people and promote anti-racism. As part of the movement, many cricketers and teams have taken the knee as a mark of solidarity.
On his YouTube channel, though, De Villiers opened up on how he was severely criticized for being part of the movement in one of the matches.
“I am still on the fence. I don’t know which way to go there (on the BLM movement)," he said.
"But we were forced to make a play then. It was quite a sensitive subject for me. I got a lot of criticism for doing that BLM movement in one game purely because it’s quite controversial," De Villiers added.
Sharing his thoughts on cricketers not wanting to support a particular cause, De Villiers opined that if some people want to sit on the fence, they must be allowed to do so.
“I was forced to do that on that day (support BLM). My dad is a doctor in a small town. Some people even stopped going to his practice. That’s how ridiculous these things are,” the 39-year-old added.
A controversy erupted during the 2021 T20 World Cup when South African keeper-batter Quinton de Kock refused to take the knee and opted out of a game. However, he offered an apology later and took a knee after making a comeback to the XI.
“Cricket will not survive if it’s just the three of you playing against each other” - AB de Villiers’ message to top boards
The future of Test cricket has been a matter of big debate in recent years. The spotlight has only increased following the shortest Test recently played between India and South Africa.
Answering a fan query on the future of red-ball cricket, De Villiers opined that the traditional version of the sport can survive if the top cricket boards support the other Test nations.
“I think it’s is good hands. I absolutely love watching Test cricket. It is the ultimate format. It’s just so nice to watch a good Test match or five days of hard-fought Test cricket. I think the future of Test cricket is safe and good,” he asserted.
“I would like the ICC, the BCCI, the ECB and also Australian cricket to stand up together. I’m mentioning those three boards because they sort of run cricket in the world at the moment. In 10 years’ time, cricket will not survive if it’s just the three of you playing against each other. Hopefully, the administrators will fix that and make sure all Test teams get a fair chance to play against each other,” De Villiers concluded.
There was a massive furor recently after South Africa named a second-string Test squad for the New Zealand series, as their main players are part of SA20.