Michael Holding has a simple message for all sportsmen and women as they navigate the issue of racism in 2021: “If you don’t kneel, I know where you stand”.
The West Indies cricketing great never intended to become a lightning rod for the anti-racism cause, and spent many of his 67 years actively avoiding the battleground.
But he grasped the nettle in unforgettable fashion in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, filling a rain delay during England’s first home Test of 2020 with a passionate call to arms that turned heads and, much later, won awards.
This week he re-enters the fray with the publication of his new book ‘Why We Kneel, How We Rise’, a sober, densely researched account of racial discrimination partially told through discussions with leading athletes including Usain Bolt, Thierry Henry, Michael Johnson and Naomi Osaka.
And while the gesture popularised by American footballer Colin Kaepernick is merely a jumping off point for a deeper study, it is one that means a lot to Holding.
“I’m…
