“Would be bruising my knee until I go into my grave” - Michael Holding feels UK not doing enough to tackle racism
West Indies legend Michael Holding has lamented that the United Kingdom are not doing enough to tackle racism. He added that he would be bruising his knee if he were a sportsman now, referring to players taking a knee to support the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ The Cricket Show, Michael Holding opined that England need to do a lot more to prove that they are serious about tackling racism.
Michael Holding had criticized England after the team decided to stop taking a knee later last summer. According to the former Windies fast bowler, the gesture is a worldwide acknowledgement and he doesn’t understand why people find it difficult to do. The movement started after an African-American man named George Floyd was murdered in Minnesota by a white police officer. Michael Holding said in this regard:
"I think everyone recognizes that the worldwide gesture to support Black Lives Matter and the entire cause is taking a knee. I don't see why that is something that should be difficult for people to do. It is a worldwide acknowledgement - everyone knows what you are doing when you take a knee. You must want to support the cause, you must be willing to understand and see that something is wrong and this is the worldwide accepted way of showing support for the cause. Why stop it? Unless you think we have made enough ground and are traveling in the right direction and are well on the way and can move on from taking a knee,” Michael Holding said.
The former West Indies fast bowler further added that he doesn’t see enough action in the UK as far as dealing with racism is concerned.
"I want to see companies in the UK coming out and taking action and let people see what they are doing to support this cause. It takes a huge amount of work to get this thing done. Until I can see that on a regular basis, action being taken and progress being made, if I were a sportsman right now, I would be taking a knee, I would be bruising my knee. Bruising my knee until I go into my grave," Holding added.
During my playing days, whenever I came across any racism, I brushed it off: Michael Holding
The cricketer-turned-commentator believed that a change can be brought about in society only by educating people and making them understand how wrong racism is. He elaborated:
"If we educate everyone and get them to understand what life is like for all - for whites, for blacks, for everybody - then we will not get in a situation where we will keep on repeating shows like this. That, I think, is the objective. To educate people and make sure they understand what it is like to be in someone else's shoes. Don't just live your life and think, 'my life is joyous, I don't care if he has a chip on his shoulder or she has a chip on her shoulder, there is nothing called racism, nothing called white privilege.”
Asked how he tackled the issue when he faced it during his playing days, Michael Holding responded that he just brushed it off.
"As a young man growing up and playing the game, whenever I came across any racism, I was quite selfish, I just brushed it off. I am glad I had that attitude because if I was to rebel against it, demonstrate against it, I wouldn't be sitting here now. People have gone to the Olympics, first and third on the podium, raised their hand to signify they are against racism, and their careers came to an end. We don't even need to go back that far. It is obvious, if I had stood up and done anything to signal my disgust my career would have ended. That is just the world we live in," Michael Holding recalled.
Michael Holding was part of West Indies cricket’s golden era in the 1970s and 1980s. He played 60 Tests and 102 ODIs, claiming 249 and 142 wickets respectively.