Male and female rugby players at club and international level chose to take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement over the past 18 months, but the gesture has not been adopted unanimously by teams and players across the sport.
The Springboks — world champions in 1995, 2007 and 2019 — are one such example.
“I just don’t think it’s a directive at the moment,” Habana, who made 124 appearances for the Springboks and scored 67 tries, told CNN Sport of the decision not to take a knee.
He added: “All players in that squad have had various statements throughout the course of the last year and a half, and in so doing, hopefully show that rugby is definitely against racism.”
Asked if he would have taken the knee as a player, Habana said: “I think I would, if we were asked to do it or if there was an opportunity to do it.
“We saw with the Autumn Nations Cup last year held in the UK that there was a number of players that would do it, and I would have most certainly done if given the opportunity.”
The act of taking a knee, which was popularized by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016 as a protest against racial injustice and police brutality, has proved a divisive subject when it comes to sport in South Africa.
Last year, South African players for English Premiership side Sale Sharks were the attention of public scrutiny for not taking the knee; like their teammates, they wore T-shirts with the words “Rugby Against Racism” ahead of games.
Source : cnn
