The Bundesliga club, Hertha Berlin, showed solidarity with NFL players in the United States by copying the protests, started by San Francisco 49ers NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, against treatment of black Americans and kneeling ahead of their home game with Schalke. On Twitter, the Bundesliga club says:
“Hertha BSC stands for tolerance and responsibility! For a tolerant Berlin and an open-minded world, now and forevermore!”
"We are living in the 21st century, not the 18th century, but there are some people who haven't developed their ideologies accordingly," Hertha player, defender Sebastian Langkamp explained. "If we can give them a bit of help in doing so, then that's good."
“We wanted to make a stand against racism,” Hertha captain Per Skjelbred said.
Forward, Salomon Kalou, said the whole team was unanimous in its support for the action. “We stand against racists and that’s our way of sharing that. We are always going to fight against this kind of behavior, as a team and as a city,” said Kalou, who acknowledged the action was inspired by the American athletes’ protest against discrimination. “It shouldn’t exist in any kind of event, in the NFL or in the football world, soccer as they call it there. It shouldn’t exist in any sport, period,” Kalou said.
“Hertha Berlin stands for diversity and against violence. For this reason, we are joining the protest of American athletes and setting a sign against discrimination,” the stadium announcer told more than 50,000 fans attending the game
Kaepernick started his protest last year when he sat down as the American national anthem was played during a pre-season American football game in 2016. He explained his gesture, which later became known as "taking the knee", was meant to highlight racial injustice and police brutality against African Americans.
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