Bored of take the knee? I’m bored of racism
Bartley’s message to the ‘idiots’
IF some fans are bored of seeing players take the knee in support of Black Lives Matter, then it’s nothing compared to how bored Marvin Bartley is of racism.
The Livi captain was delighted to see all his Premiership colleagues take the knee as the season kicked off last weekend, even if one or two St Mirren players had a false start after the whistle blew during Livi’s first game.
It follows the English Premier League wholeheartedly embracing the campaign, although the Lions’ skipper has noticed some on social media saying they are fed up with the whole thing.
But the former Hibs midfielder has hit back, pointing out black people have had to endure centuries of racism so a few outspoken idiots can shut up and accept players kneeling down for a bit – or don’t bother watching.
Bartley said: “You see some comments from people saying they’re getting bored of players taking a knee.
“Well, racism has been going on for a long, long time – and I’m bored of that.
“If racism only lasted for a week or a month I’d have been delighted. But it hasn’t. It’s been going on for hundreds of years.
“So for anyone getting bored, maybe go and watch something else.
“Of course it’s disappointing to see those comments. But it’s social media – you get people hiding behind a keyboard.
“If they have an educated opinion on it, you listen. But a lot of it is
BY ROSS PILCHER uneducated, just, ‘I’ve had enough of this. We’ve seen enough of this now’.
“Yeah well, we’ve seen enough of racism as well. We’ve had enough of something that’s been going on for a long, long time – a lot longer than players have been taking the knee.
“It’s about not listening to that very small minority. Let’s get that straight – it’s a very small minority.
“I don’t think anybody listens to those people. I don’t think they even listen to themselves – some people just type for the sake of typing. They comment on people’s pictures because they want to be seen.
“If you’ve got something to say on social media, put it on your own platform. These people don’t do that because they’ve got three followers . No one cares what they’ve got to say.
“So they go on someone else’s profile, someone a bit more famous with more followers. They think, ‘I’ll write something on there to get a reaction’. But I think taking a knee should continue because it’s about education.
“And it’s great to see some people having open conversations, learning more about it, understanding it more.
“Racism isn’t going to be eradicated in a month’s time. But if we can get better all the time, that’s the key.”
Bartley revealed talks have taken place with PFA Scotland about players continuing to take the knee.
He added: “We’re hoping it is allowed to go to the weekend when the Championship, League One and League Two start, so they have the opportunity to take part.”