SWINDON Town players showed solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement by taking the knee during the League Two trophy presentation on Friday.
The gesture has been witnessed before kick-off across the Premier League after football returned last week, with clubs and players saying more needs to be done.
Town boss Richie Wellens said: “I’ve seen it a lot on Sky. It’s 2020 now, things like this shouldn’t even be discussed.
“Everybody who’s human should have as many rights as the next human.
“Any kind of colour or race should be taken out of that.
“All these people now – Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford – all these people are standing up for what they truly believe in and I respect that.
“We as a club follow that. Our squad now, we’re totally multi-racial. As many cities and towns in England are. I’m totally behind the players.”
Midfielder Michael Doughty added: “It’s been well documented, the Black Lives Matter movement, and this is an opportunity for us to show our support and try and instigate some change if possible and make people think about what’s been and how we can evolve for the future.
“It was a good opportunity for us, at a time of real success, to show that we’ve thought amongst us and to show some support for what is a really valuable movement and very necessary.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here