Faf speaks up for coloured players

Johannesburg, July 17: “All lives don’t matter until black lives matter,” former South Africa captain and star batsman Faf du Plessis said on Friday, lending support to the fight against racism that has gripped the world with renewed vigour after African-American George Floyd’s death.

Offering his views on the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, which found support in the ongoing EnglandWest Indies Test series where players from both sides took a knee in the opening match, du Plessis said time has come to fight racism head on.

“In the last couple of months I have realised that we must choose our battles. We are surrounded by many injustices in our country that require urgent attention and action to fix them,” Faf posted on Instagram. Floyd became a symbol of the anti-racism movement after he was killed at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis, triggering widespread protests across the world.

“So I’ve remained silent, with the intent to listen, but not respond. Slowing down my point of view, but quicker to hear the pain of someone else. I surrender my opinions and take the knee as an intercessor.

“I acknowledge that South Africa is still hugely divided by racism and it is my personal responsibility to do my best to emphasize, hear the stories, learn and then be part of the solution with my thoughts, words and actions,” Faf added.

This is in stark contrast to his past stance of rejecting talk of racism. He had said that “we don’t see colour” when asked about Temba Bavuma’s axing earlier this year.