I will go on because there IS a drum to bang
KEVIN HARPER says he would never force any player to take a knee in support of black and ethnic minorities — but hopes they would be supportive of a movement demanding an end to ‘hundreds of years’ of inequality and oppression.
And Harper, who doesn’t support the political aims of the Black Lives Matter movement, is angry that the SFA and SPFL haven’t taken more of a lead in protests planned for the opening weekend of the season.
The former Hibernian star and ex-Albion Rovers boss praised Rangers for standing up for Connor Goldson, singling out the stance taken by managing director Stewart Robertson — warning that fans who abused the defender for taking a knee were ‘not welcome at Ibrox’ — as an example of leadership.
English Premier League players have consistently taken the knee in games since the restart of their season, lending their high-profile support to a civil-rights movement sweeping the globe.
The SFA have said players won’t be punished for making a ‘political protest’ before games, while the SPFL are leaving the decision on whether to take a knee to the ‘discretion’ of individual players.
Harper said: ‘If you look at what’s going on, there’s a real change — but I’ve not heard much in Scotland. It’s all been down south or elsewhere.
‘I’ve not heard anyone at the SFA or other top people coming out and saying: “This is what we’re going to do”.
‘I heard Jermain Defoe talking about taking a knee and saying everyone’s behind it. But I’ve not heard the powers that be get behind it and say: “Yeah, this is what we’re going to do. This is what we’ll put in place”.
‘It feels like we want to sweep it all under the carpet. Hopefully what is happening now means it (racism) will go away, eventually. But I’ve been speaking about this for nearly 30 years — and it’s still not changed.
‘Some people will think: “Oh, there he goes again. He’s banging his drum”. Well, there’s a drum to be banged. For years and years, nothing has been done about it.
‘In 2020, we still see footballers being racially abused.’
Referencing the comments directed at Goldson for daring to post a photo of himself taking a knee before a recent pre-season friendly in Lyon, Harper — speaking on BBC Scotland’s Scottish Football podcast — said: ‘The amount of abuse he got just sums everything up.
‘People are missing the point. Black and ethnic people want equality. They don’t want to be better than anybody — they just want the same chances.
‘People saying, yeah, all lives matter. All lives do matter. But what we’re saying is black and ethnic people have been marginalised for hundreds of years.
‘The statement that Rangers came out with was very strong, very positive. That was what more clubs should be saying.’ On the element of choice in whether to take a knee, Harper insisted: ‘It’s entirely up to a player, how they do it. I don’t think you should be pressuring players into doing something they don’t want to do.
‘Because that then turns into a pressure point. If players want to take the knee, that’s great. There are different ways to support.
‘But, if it was me and roles were reversed and we were talking about white people taking a knee, I would certainly be taking a knee in support of my team-mates.
‘I’m in support of what they’re doing it for. If players want to take a knee then, yeah, I would take a knee if I was still playing.
‘It’s about equality. We know that all lives matter. But the issue is black lives are being oppressed.’