De Kock said he felt his rights were taken away after being told to support in a certain way.
Skipper Temba Bavuma revealed that De Kock had pulled out of the match during toss and Reeza Hendricks replaced him in the playing XI. It also came to knowledge Cricket South Africa had issued a directive for the national team members to take the knee before every match in the tournament going forward.
The cricket world was divided into two parts after it came to light that Quinton de Kock pulling out of the match was due to his refusal to take the knee after the squad came to know of the CSA directive. CSA chairperson Lawson Naidoo even said that De Kock was committed to an antiracist agenda and consequences for his actions would be decided after the board received the report from team management.
Now Cricket South Africa, on their Twitter account, shared a statement given by De Kock himself.
In his statement, Quinton de Kock starts by apologizing to his South African teammates and the fans back home. He then underlines that he knows the importance of taking a stand against racism and that players have the responsibility to set an example for others.
He said he is happy to take the knee if it means others are educated about the issue and he in no way wanted to disrespect anyone by pulling out of the West Indies match. He said he was sorry for all the confusion and anger he caused by his decision and explained his rationale behind it.
De Kock said that Black Lives matter to him since he was born as he comes from a mixed-race family with his step-mother being Black and his step-sisters being colored. However, he felt that his right was taken away from him when he was told to do show support in a certain way.
Here is the full statement by Quinton de Kock: