Taking a knee is in danger of becoming an empty gesture,says QPR's Ferdinand

Les Ferdinand, 53, English former professional footballer and current coach and director of football at Queens Park Rangers, believes that ‘taking a knee’ in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has become nothing short of a PR stunt and that the real message is being diluted.

Ferdinand and his Queens Park Rangers’ team received many critiques after that both sets of players opted not to take the knee before their match against Coventry City in the Championship last week.

The London club declared just yesterday that it in no way suggested a lack of support for the campaign nor for the message BLM is trying to spread.

Championship - Huddersfield Town v Queens Park Rangers - John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield, Britain. Queens Park Rangers Director of Football Les Ferdinand outside the stadium before the match. Image credit Action Images/John Clifton/Reuters

Ferdinand, who made his name as a prolific striker at QPR and enjoyed successful spells at Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, said the criticism of a club he calls one of the most diverse in England was unwarranted.

He stated: “This should not be about QPR. Many clubs did not take the knee on the opening weekend, yet this was not reported.

“Taking the knee was very powerful but we feel that impact has now been diluted.”

Specifically, the Black Lives Matter cause was taken up by Premier League clubs on the reopening of last season following the brutal murder of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25 whose killing inspired worldwide protests to achieve racial justice and equality.

Premier League club wore the Black Lives Matter logo on their shirts but that has now been replaced by “No Room for Racism”.

Manchester United's Marcus Rashford raises his fist as he kneels in support of the Black Lives Matter campaign before the match against Tottenham Hotspur. Image credit Reuters

Whether to continue taking a knee before games has divided opinion across sport and Ferdinand believes the gesture, first performed by NFL player Colin Kaepernick in 2016, is in danger of becoming an empty one.

“No one is more passionate than me about this topic. I have spoken on the matter throughout my footballing life,” he pointed out.

“Recently, I took the decision not to do any more interviews on racism in football because the debate was going around in circles. People want a nice sound bite when something happens, but how many of the media who have criticised QPR over the past 48 hours genuinely want change?

“The taking of the knee has reached a point of ‘good PR’ but little more than that. The message has been lost. It is now not dissimilar to a fancy hashtag or a nice pin badge.”

Meanwhile, Premier League players and many other athletes in different sport disciplines have continued to take the knee before matches since the resume of the new season.

Reacting to Ferdinand’s comments, anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out said: “I agree that we need to focus on the action that creates real change. We should be talking about solutions, not symbols”, encouraging players to protest in whatever way they felt comfortable.