The #TakeAKnee movement has crossed the Atlantic and into Germany. Hertha Berlin players took a knee in a show of solidarity with similar protests in the United States ahead of their match with Schalke on Saturday.
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
In addition to the players on the pitch, who represented 10 different nations, the coaching staff and substitutes on the sideline also took a knee. Hertha Berlin’s American-born goalie Jonathan Klinsmann, son of former USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann, was not in the match-day squad and was not involved.
Schalke won the match 2-0 over Hertha, which played the entire second half with 10 men after a Genki Haraguchi red card.
Hertha Berlin said its athletes were joining the protests of many American athletes who have taken a knee during the playing of the national anthem before games, particularly in the NFL. Because European soccer teams don’t play the national anthem before games, the players took to the knee after the two opposing teams greeted each other at midfield before kickoff.
The take-a-knee protests were started by Colin Kaepernick (whose name Bundesliga’s English-language website misspelled) when he was a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. The protests gained added steam this NFL season.
Hertha sporting executive Michael Preetz explained his club’s actions to reporters after the match.
“We live in times in which football clubs, who are very much in the spotlight, must work out how to position themselves, and this is in tune with the values and the philosophy of Hertha Berlin,” Preetz said. “I’ve been here for 21 years, and we’ve always been against discrimination of any kind and against racism. We are Berlin. We are an open-minded city, and we stand for diversity, and that’s what the team and the club wanted to stand up for today."
The18 Recommends For You
